


From dusk till dawn

by SilentRain91



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Secret Relationship, Summer Camp, frenemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-08-24 23:04:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 35,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16649554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentRain91/pseuds/SilentRain91
Summary: It started off as stolen moments when nobody was looking. Soon, it became their little secret. Josie never kept something this big from Lizzie before.





	1. Chapter 1

Summer camp, one of those typical mundane activities for children and teenagers, something Hope never anticipated to experience, until now.

Alaric and Caroline decided the students needed a break, and they weren’t wrong. Not that Hope ever expected one because life had a way of saying no, with one rollercoaster after another. Only time could tell if things would be different this time, for once.

While a green piece of landscape welcomed Hope’s eyes, it didn’t feel like a vacation. At least, not yet. The wind blew gently through her hair while the sun shone on her skin. This camp was said to be remote with nobody around for miles, and it felt that way due to the silence. Hope wasn’t surprised they had to hide yet again, even if Alaric denied that was the case.

Hope didn’t carry much more than a backpack filled with clothes and an old photograph of better times. Some might disagree, but to Hope, there was something valuable about her younger years. She really did miss her parents, more than anyone could imagine.

Hope’s jaw tensed while her fingers curled into fists. Sometimes she wanted to punch something, anything, or let all of her powers out at once while screaming. But she couldn’t do that. Hope couldn’t lose control like that. Her parents gave their lives, paid the ultimate price, for her. But Hope tried not to think about it too much because the more she did, the more it hurt.

The cabins Hope saw placed in the open field in the center of the woods weren’t much bigger than a garden shed; just enough for two beds and a modest dresser each.

“Listen up, cadets,” Caroline spoke up with a giggle. Her enthusiasm was received with an eye-roll of some, and a smile of others.

Hope respected Caroline’s positive attitude and view of life, despite all of the hardships there had been in the past year alone. Why on earth Caroline was dressed like a tall girl-scout, however, was something Hope didn’t even want to know.

“Each cabin has its own color,” Caroline explained, revealing handfuls of ribbons in different colors.

Students murmured their favorite colors and preferred roommate with crossed fingers as if that could change anything about the list Alaric held out in front of Caroline.

“Yellow,” Caroline announced, “Hope Mikaelson and Josie Saltzman.”

“What!?” Josie and Lizzie objected in sync. “But-”

“No buts, girls,” Alaric said with a stern tone in his voice.

Lizzie groaned. “Ugh fine.”

Hope sighed, dreading the next four weeks already. Who even went to summer camp for a month? Well, it could have been worse, but that didn’t make it better.

Alaric and Caroline ensured all students were safe here, while Hope had a hand in setting up a spell to protect the perimeter earlier, to ensure nobody could get in or out. She knew it was nothing more than a safety precaution, though Hope wasn’t going to take their word for it, not when danger lurked everywhere, waiting to strike.

“Yellow roommate,” Josie chuckled, nudging Hope’s elbow with hers.

Hope arched an eyebrow. “I know you didn’t want to be stuck sharing a cabin with me, and the feeling is mutual,” she all but grumbled under her breath, snatching up the yellow ribbon Josie held out to her. “You don’t have to pretend to get along with me,” Hope added before turning on her heel.

“I was only trying to be friendly, you know?” Josie replied, voice coming out too tired to have a bite to it.

Hope was certain Alaric and Caroline placed her in a cabin with Josie on purpose. If it was up to Hope, she would settle for one with no roommate, and let the twins share with each other. A couple of weeks ago, she came close to building a friendship with Josie, but it crumbled when Josie gave Hope the cold shoulder out of nowhere.

Hope genuinely didn’t get it, nor did she want to invest energy in trying to make sense of it all. One afternoon they actually bonded and had some laughs, but that same afternoon Josie got so invested in checking up on Lizzie, Josie appeared to forget all about Hope.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Josie twisted her yellow ribbon, wishing she could simply siphon some magic and whisper a spell that would give her a different color. The tension when she so much as breathed in Hope’s direction was too much for Josie. It was as if the smallest thing she said or did made Hope want to bite off her nose.

Josie hadn’t asked to share a cabin with Hope any more than Hope had. They both had to deal with it, whether they liked it or not. Josie would rather go home, wherever that was supposed to be lately. She wasn’t interested in this vacation, or any of the activities her parents probably planned already.

Hope summoned her luggage with a spell while Josie struggled to pull hers from underneath the suitcases stacked on top of hers.

“Come on,” Josie muttered silently as she tugged, leaning, using all of her weight.

Josie landed on her back when her luggage magically pushed her over. “Do you think this is funny!?” she spat at Hope. Josie accepted Lizzie’s hand to get up, brushing sand and leaves from her pants.

“You looked like you needed help. You should be thanking me instead of yelling at me. It’s not my fault you’re clumsy.”

“I will get you for this, Hope,” Lizzie swore.

Hope took a step toward Lizzie, chin up.

Before things had the chance to escalate further, Josie wrapped her fingers around her sister’s wrist, at the same time their father stepped in. Hope wasn’t worth getting angry at, and Josie knew her sister would get herself in trouble even though Hope started it.

“I really was only trying to help,” Hope told Josie as she went to stand a bit farther.

According to the rules, Josie had to wait to go to her cabin until everyone was assigned one. She wasn’t in a hurry anyway, and she wanted to know who her sister would have to share with. It was a relief the beds were separate because Josie didn’t want to argue about who should get the top of a bunk bed and who the bottom.

Josie hesitated whether she was wrong to blow up at Hope like that or not. Hope did sound sincere, and maybe Josie leaned so far back she would have fallen either way, but she was convinced Hope enjoyed watching her go down, so no, Josie wasn’t going to thank Hope for her crappy and unasked assistance.

“Lizzie,” Caroline called out, waving a purple ribbon around. “Your roommate will be Dana.”

Josie grimaced. Dana was a new vampire, thanks to Caleb who turned her, as revenge after Lizzie snitched on Caleb drinking from people while it was against their school rules. Josie wasn’t at all surprised when Caleb got expelled, but that still left them stuck with Dana.

“No way,” Lizzie replied, throwing up her hands. “Her?”

“It’s no picnic for me either,” Dana scoffed loudly, pulling up her nose. “I’d rather share with a bag of trash.”

Lizzie chuckled darkly while she shook her head, and Josie wished her sister would stop talking because whatever Lizzie thought of saying would only result in yet another warning from their parents.

“Oh honey, you are trash,” Lizzie told Dana, patting her on the shoulder.

Josie wasn’t sure whether to face-palm or smile. Her sister wasn’t wrong. Sharing a cabin with Hope suddenly wasn’t so bad, and Josie was surprised when she caught the sound of Hope barely holding back a laugh.

“Girls, that’s enough,” Alaric interrupted the second Lizzie and Dana began to push one another. “You will share a cabin, and you will be on your best behavior,” Alaric said, passing on a purple ribbon to Lizzie and one to Dana.

“Purple? Yuck,” Dana uttered, letting her ribbon fall to the ground. “Purple is so last month, can’t I have pink instead?”

Josie rolled her eyes. Dana was the most irritating person ever, and Josie felt so bad for Lizzie to the point where she would offer to switch if they were allowed.

“Remember, there is no I in team,” Caroline added.

“There is one in I don’t give a f-”

Josie smiled at Hope’s quick spell which made Dana pass out. She almost forgot they were at odds until Hope’s smile disappeared right when Josie looked at her.

Josie listened to her father telling Hope not to use that spell on Dana anymore, and so forth, while Lizzie amusedly encouraged the idea of making Dana sleep for the entirety of this trip.

“Try not to kill her,” Josie joked to her sister, though with an undertone of seriousness.

“If that bitch bites me I’m pulling out her teeth one by one,” Lizzie said while glaring at Dana who shot daggers at her.

With a grunt, Josie lifted up her suitcase. “I’ll see you soon, Liz.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hope, entering the cabin first, tossed her things on the bed next to the window. She heard Josie shuffle in beside her, and when Hope spared a glance, Josie stared at the wooden floorboard. The bed next to Hope’s, on the opposite side, creaked a little while Josie sat down.

No words were exchanged between Hope and Josie as they put their clothes in the dresser, each sticking to their half as if crossing the invisible middle line would result in an electric shock.

Four weeks of silence didn’t seem so bad to Hope, yet the weight of it quickly proved heavy several hours later. She had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at Josie for breathing too loud. Not that she was, but it was all Hope could hear as they laid on their beds, staring up at the ceiling.

Hope cracked first. “The silent treatment?” she scoffed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“What’s your problem!?” Josie demanded, sitting upright.

Hope mimicked Josie’s position. “You’ve been acting like I don’t exist for weeks, why should now be any different?” Hope shot back, knowing she wasn’t being entirely fair.

“Pot and kettle,” Josie all but sneered. “I could say the same about you.”

Hope nearly had to laugh. “Excuse me?”

“You accuse me of giving you the silent treatment while you haven’t said a single word either,” Josie pointed out. “And furthermore,” she continued, standing up, walking over to Hope’s bed, “when I tried to be friendly earlier, you shut me off completely, so don’t pin this on me, you… you pokester.”

Hope opened and closed her mouth. At this point, Josie loomed above her, and for the first time, Hope believed Josie didn’t need Lizzie to throw a punch. It was refreshing, watching Josie fiercely stand up for herself, though Hope didn’t like being at the receiving end of Josie’s frustrations.

“Pokester?” Hope snorted.

“Shut up,” Josie laughed, slapping Hope’s upper arm, “I’m mad at you.”

Without a second thought, Hope yanked her blanket off her bed and draped it over Josie’s shoulders. “Now you’re super mad,” Hope teased with a smirk.

“Ugh!” Josie groaned, pushing Hope’s blanket away. Josie then grabbed Hope’s wrists and pushed her down, shifting to bracket Hope’s hips between her knees. “You’re super irritating!” Josie whisper-shouted. “Why are you so…?”

Hope searched Josie’s eyes, and in the little light their cabin provided, Josie’s eyes resembled stars. “So what?” Hope inquired, following Josie’s tongue as it poked out to wet her lips.

An answer didn’t come. Instead, Josie backed away with a groan.

Hope didn’t know what had gotten into her to reach for her blanket like that, and to tease Josie the way she did. It was an impulsive idea, one Hope didn’t regret, considering it diffused the situation, and she wasn’t in the mood for a fight anyway, even if admittedly, Hope was the one who nearly started one.

“Hey, so I was thinking,” Josie began after a drawn-out silence. “I’m wondering if you’d mind going on a walk with me. I don’t really know this area, and I’d rather not be outside alone at dark.”

Hope’s eyes widened for a moment. “You’re afraid of the dark?”

Josie’s expressions soured. “Forget I asked, you wouldn’t understand,” she muttered, climbing back in her bed.

Hope buried her hands in her hair before dragging them down her face. “Some fresh air would be nice. We’ve been cooped up in this cabin for a while now,” she said, getting up. “Come on,” she insisted, plastering on what she hoped was a genuine smile as she stirred Josie’s shoulder.

Josie bit her lip, staring at Hope, then at the door, and eventually at Hope again.

“I won’t poke,” Hope reassured, reaching for Josie’s hand, only to be met by resistance as Josie let go. “I’ll try not to poke,” Hope corrected. “I can swear on it if that makes a difference for you. You know, cross my heart and all of that fun stuff.”

Josie took Hope’s hand and smiled, saying, “I want to show you something magical.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Josie leaned against a nearby tree and looked up at the moon. She was somewhere in the middle of the woods, with Hope. Josie wasn’t worried about getting lost because she knew a protection spell surrounded the area, and Hope, being a hybrid, was a decent tracker.

“It’ll be a full moon in a few days,” Hope whispered, idly chewing her bottom lip.

“What’s it like?” Josie questioned, cringing at the thought of bones breaking, which made her happy she was a witch. Though if asked, Josie would rather be human and have a simple life, without the complications of supernatural things.

“It hurts at first, but that feeling is temporary. I don’t have to be chained up like most werewolves on a full moon because I can control myself, but sometimes I…,” Hope answered, shaking her head as she trailed off.

“You…?”

“Never mind, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not,” Josie assured, frowning at the way Hope suddenly held back just when Josie thought she managed to get a conversation going. “You can tell me things.”

Hope let out a dry chuckle. “Since when can I tell you stuff?”

Josie swallowed, thinking back to that one afternoon where Hope did share something with her after Josie told Hope how she always kept secrets. To Josie, it felt like walking up against a wall every time she even tried to reach Hope in the slightest and each time Josie wedged a brick free, Hope placed two new ones.

Josie understood that whatever bond she thought she was building with Hope that afternoon crumbled later that very day when Landon came back, which of course meant Hope’s attention shifted toward him. After that, Hope went back to avoiding Josie as much as she could.

Not that Josie cared. She had plenty of friends. Lizzie was one of those, and so was M.G. It didn’t matter how most of the time Hope was Josie’s frenemy at best.

“We’re both girls,” Josie pointed out. “Girls talk sometimes.”

“Gossip doesn’t count.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Josie said with a huff.

Hope took a step, and then another, placing more distance between them. “It’s personal,” she sighed.

Josie peeled herself away from the tree. “Where are you going?” she asked, rushing to catch up while Hope continued to walk.

Hope abruptly stopped, causing Josie to bump into her. “You can relax,” Hope voiced, turning around. “I’m not leaving,” she said, placing one hand on Josie’s shoulder, looking her right in the eye. “There is something you wanted to show me, right?”

Josie took a deep breath in. Her shoulders relaxed while she slowly released her breath. “Yes,” she answered, nodding at the same time. “Which way is the lake?”

“The lake?” Hope repeated. Her eyebrow rose and she tilted her head to the side. “Why?”

“I’m not going to push you into the water,” Josie sighed.

“You’re capable of worse if given even half the chance.”

Josie’s jaw dropped momentarily, but she quickly caught herself, refusing to let Hope talk to her like that. “You’re such a bitch,” Josie responded, crossing her arms while Hope gasped. “All I needed was for you to trust me on this, but you act all paranoid as if I’m some kind of demon who’d push you into the lake at night. I may not always be friendly, I’ll admit that much, and I know we barely ever get along, but I’m not a bully, Hope.”

Josie wanted to close her eyes to shut out whatever backlash was headed her way, but instead, she stared at Hope who just stood there with her mouth ajar. Josie hated this vacation, so much. She had to laugh at how pathetically she tried to make the most of it by going on a walk with Hope to get fresh air and to show her something, only for all of it to backfire because Hope was convinced Josie had ill intentions.

Perhaps calling Hope a bitch was a bridge too far, but Hope had a way of getting under Josie’s skin, and today was extra rough after learning she didn’t get to share a cabin with her sister while she had counted on staying close to Lizzie. After all, Josie always slept close to Lizzie, since the day they were born.

Hope blinked quickly tree times. “I-I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Josie countered, uncomfortable as her stomach twisted. She was supposed to be the peacekeeper, the calm one, and all she had done today was lashing out at Hope not once but three times. “I shouldn’t have called you-”

“A bitch?” Hope filled in.

“No, I meant that one,” Josie replied without missing a beat, holding back a smile. “I shouldn’t have called you paranoid.”

Hope shared a chuckle with Josie. “Careful now,” Hope warned with a light tone, “or you might end up getting wet.”

“I’m sorry I called you a bitch.”

While Josie followed Hope toward the lake, she had a pleasant feeling that somewhere in the near future, they might actually become friends for real rather than just for a day. Josie didn’t like the constant bickering or having to compete for her father’s love and attention.

Josie knew Hope couldn’t help it she lost her parents, but that didn’t mean Josie had to settle for sharing her father when he already divided his time because of the other students. Her father may have decided to be some sort of guardian to Hope, but that didn’t make Hope Josie’s family. No, they would never be sisters.

The water was lit up by the moonlight, causing it to shimmer a little. It wasn’t cold out, though it wasn’t warm either, and Josie knew the lake must have had chilling temperatures, which significantly reduced the temptation of going for a nightly swim at any point of this camp.

“Give me your hand,” Josie requested. Her breath hitched very quietly when Hope grabbed her hand and laced their fingers. “You’re hot,” Josie blurted out. “Your hand,” she clarified quickly, mortified on the inside, “your hand feels warm.”

“Perks of being a hybrid.”

Josie let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, glad Hope didn’t seem to notice how fast her heart was beating for voicing the first thought that popped in her head without thinking it through. Thankfully, Josie didn’t make that mistake again with the second immediate thought she had, namely how Hope’s hand fit in hers like a puzzle piece.

The corners of Hope’s mouth curled up. “Thanks for the compliment though,” she jested.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Josie all but groaned. She saw Hope as a bit of a menace, but this light teasing wasn’t so bad. Josie could tell it was all in good nature. She would almost dare say she enjoyed the playful direction they were headed towards.

Hope detached her hand from Josie’s. “So you don’t think I’m hot?” Hope asked, turning a quarter, enough to face Josie fully.

Josie took Hope’s hand, ignoring that question while she concentrated on the spell she had in mind to show Hope something magical. It wasn’t Josie’s fault it was getting late. She didn’t want to stretch this any longer.

A part of Josie wanted to stay outside all night and wait until dawn arrived so she could watch the sunrise. No painting or drawing could ever truly capture all of the beauty that was seeing nature at its finest through a personal lens rather than observe someone else’s idea of it, and to Josie, each sunrise was unique and slightly different from the previous one.

But Josie couldn’t do that. It was against the rules to stay outside past curfew, and given the fact they were allowed to stay outside until midnight, Josie didn’t feel like she had a right to complain.

Hope remained silent as Josie siphoned some power from her.

Josie wasn’t a fan of having to rely on other people’s powers or on powerful objects in order to use magic, but seeing that red glow each time she siphoned some power and feeling it course through her veins felt incredible. It was like breathing in new life, and there was nothing in the whole world like the power Hope had. Josie admired Hope for that, not that she ever planned on telling Hope she did.

“Did you absorb enough to perform the spell you have in mind?” Hope asked suddenly, startling Josie out of her daze.

Josie let go of Hope’s hand, embarrassed she got so lost in her thoughts she forgot she was holding it in the first place. “Mhmm,” Josie hummed, eyes flitting away from Hope.

Josie whispered the spell carefully word for word, smiling as magic unfolded right in front of their eyes.

Dewdrops covered the lake like marble-sized diamonds of pure white light. Josie lifted her hands to make them rise, dispersing them throughout the woods, illuminating every tree.

Josie’s smile brightened at the way Hope’s eyes went back and forth to drink in every square meter. “It only lasts for a minute,” Josie informed Hope, “and I can make them change color, sort of like Christmas lights.”

“It’s beautiful, Josie,” Hope replied, spinning a slow circle. She smiled at Josie when the color changed from white to green. “Can you make different shapes?” Hope wondered.

“It depends. What kind of shape do you have in mind?”

“How about some sort of animal?” Hope suggested. “Like a stag.”

Josie smacked Hope’s arm when Hope chuckled. “I’m not Harry Potter, you know,” Josie said, rolling her eyes.

She watched every Harry Potter movie with her sister, when they spent some quality time together, but being compared to him or anyone else from that imaginary world was a mockery toward real witches. Josie knew Hope meant it as a harmless tease, so Josie wasn’t offended.

Hope’s eyes were glued to the dewdrops of light coming together to form a red rose.

“I tried showing this to Penelope once, but she said my magic tricks were childlike and a waste of time,” Josie shared, smile falling at the contrast between Penelope’s reaction and Hope’s.

Josie hadn’t meant to ruin this moment by bringing up her ex, but it was hard not to sometimes. And she definitely didn’t intend to mention something personal, it simply happened. Josie looked down, thinking how that memory was only the tip of the iceberg of everything that went wrong with Penelope. Lizzie was the only person Josie told everything, one night when she broke down crying in her sister’s arms. Back then, Josie believed the pain would never cease, and it took a long time before it did, but even so, a dull ache remained.

“Hey,” Hope spoke up, cradling Josie’s jaw, waiting a beat until Josie looked at her. “Penelope is nothing but a mean girl,” Hope said, thumb idly caressing Josie’s cheek, “you are Josie Saltzman, a powerful witch with magic tricks that will never be a waste of time or childlike. Never stop showing people who you are, the real you, because if they don’t like you they’re not worth the trouble anyway. Without you, I could have never defeated that gargoyle.”

Josie found her smile again. “Thanks, Hope,” she whispered, winding her arms around Hope’s waist, knowing full well they normally didn’t hug at all.

As expected, Hope froze in Josie’s arms, and she was about to back away and apologize, but then Hope hugged back. Josie had no idea if their hug lasted five seconds or five minutes; all she knew was that she really needed that, and that she would never forget what Hope said that night by the lake.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any camp activities you'd like to see included in this fic, you're welcome to mention them, and I'll see if it's something I want to add or not.


	3. Chapter 3

The cafeteria was in the center of the woods, in the middle of all the cabins. It was a good thing that one wasn’t used as a place to sleep because sharing with one person was way more tolerable than sharing with half of the students.

Hope took her time to get there after Josie left to make a detour to Lizzie’s cabin to meet up with her, and somehow Hope still got there first. It had to be her genes that made her fast, either that or Josie was stalling too much. Hope saw how Caroline pushed four tables together to make two long ones right before she set foot inside.

“Good morning, Hope,” Caroline greeted with a bright, cheerful smile. “How was your sleep?”

Hope mumbled a quick, “good morning,” as she tried to decide whether she would sit at the table on the left or the table on the right. “It was okay,” she answered, moving her right hand over each chair while she weighed her options.

“Morning, mom,” Josie and Lizzie droned together as they entered. Both wasted no time to hug their mother whose smile had to be at ten-thousand volt by now.

Hope glanced away. It was nice for the twins how they faced four weeks with their mother after having missed her a lot. Hope didn’t get that, and she never would because her mother was never coming back.

More students trickled inside of the cafeteria, which Hope took as her cue to gather breakfast and pick a damn chair before she had to squeeze in between everyone else, and some smelled like they ought to wash themselves.

The croissants Hope saw displayed were more than welcome, but the juice boxes were ridiculous. Seriously, she wasn’t a five-year-old. Maybe Caroline didn’t want shards of glass to wind up on the floor, but they could have at least gone with plastic cups.

With a soft sigh, Hope opted for apple juice instead of orange juice and placed two croissants on her plate. By the time she reached the tables again, she noticed some of the vampires huddled together on the far right. She figured Caroline changed the tables from four to two so students wouldn’t split up in groups according to their kind.

Not that everyone cared about whether someone was a witch, a werewolf or a vampire, but some students did. Hope decided to set her plate down next to M.G, across from Lizzie and Josie. It was that or sitting on the other side of the table next to the evil witch, also known as Josie’s ex.

Lizzie stared at Hope and opened her mouth as if to say something to make Hope leave, only to snap it shut just as quickly when Josie nudged Lizzie’s side and shook her head no.

Hope knew they were on iffy terms, but with Landon sitting at the other table she had no other options left. She mentally told herself not to let Lizzie’s icy glare get under her skin, not to give leeway to a fight or a heated argument.  

M.G moved the blood in his cup around when Caroline and Alaric sat down next to their daughters. “And now we’re the losers who sit with the teachers,” M.G mumbled in a whisper.

“That’s rude, M.G,” Lizzie said, kicking his shin under the table.

“Hey, I felt that,” M.G complained, rubbing his hand down his leg.

“Lizzie,” Caroline warned with a stern look.

“He called us losers, he deserved that.”

Hope ate her food in silence while Caroline fussed about whether the twins ate enough or not. It was another reminder to Hope how she didn’t have that anymore, and it didn’t help when Caroline tried to convince her to get another croissant to ensure Hope wouldn’t get hungry this afternoon. She knew Caroline meant well, as did Alaric, but sometimes it was all a bit too much. All their attention and care did was giving Josie and Lizzie more reason to dislike Hope.

“Excuse me,” Hope uttered, getting up from the table. “I’m going for a walk.”

“O-okay,” Caroline spoke hesitantly, sharing a worried look with Alaric.

“Don’t wander off too far,” Alaric added.

Hope was in the middle of discarding her plate when she heard Penelope and Dana chuckle while they intently observed the twins. Those two certainly became friends fast. Their interactions gave Hope a bad feeling, and she didn’t like how Penelope kept stealing glances of Josie.

“Watch this,” Penelope told Dana, followed by a spell.

Josie’s juice box exploded, causing the orange juice it contained to spill all over her clothes. Some of it even got in her hair. “My shirt!” she gasped loudly. Her chair clattered to the floor as she pushed it back and stood up.

“Nice going, Jo-Jo,” Penelope commented with a wicked grin. “Quite thirsty this morning, aren’t you?”

Josie trembled in a barely visible way. Her lip quivered as she looked over at Penelope while orange juice dripped onto the wooden floor. Without saying a single word, Josie stormed out of the cafeteria when most of the students started pointing and laughing at her, followed closely by Lizzie.

Hope caught a glimpse of the tears that welled up in Josie’s eyes right before Josie went outside. Hope balled her hands into fists so hard she felt her nails dig into her palms. She had to take a deep calming breath to avoid turning right there and then.

Caroline went after Josie. Meanwhile, Alaric tried to get the students to settle down and stop acting like animals.

With everything that was going on, nobody paid attention to Hope casting a spell. She had no idea what Josie went through with Penelope, but if last night was any indication, Penelope hurt Josie in a way she didn’t deserve. Hope saw the pain in Josie’s eyes last night, felt how Penelope broke something in Josie as Josie hugged Hope like she wanted to mend those pieces.

Hope was allergic to mean girls, and when it came down to that, Penelope took the crown, especially after what Hope witnessed this morning. Nobody was allowed to mess with the people she cared about. One way or another, Penelope was going to pay for what she did.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Gather around, cadets!” Caroline said through a speaker. “Come closer, I won’t bite,” she chuckled, carrying so much pep in her step that there was no trace of how this morning, she broke a tree in half with her bare fist, followed by hugging Josie so gently she may as well have been made out of glass.

Josie grimaced upon seeing her mother dressed up in her old cheerleader outfit, which was a little embarrassing. She heard the chuckles, noticed the stares, and the few pointed fingers, though one glance from her mother and they all hushed. Josie smiled proudly, and her heart warmed knowing how her mother earned respect just like that.

Even with everyone around, it was tempting for Josie to walk up to her mother at random times to hug her because she was happy she wouldn’t have to miss her for four weeks. It also made her wish the other students would all leave, except for her sister, of course. Josie could only dream of a vacation where it was just her family, no one else.

But still, Josie would take this camp over having to miss her mother again for an unknown amount of time. She knew her parents’ relationship wasn’t what it used to be anymore, but that didn’t mean her mother had to avoid her sister and her, too. Maybe that wasn’t true, though it felt that way to Josie sometimes.

Josie hardly ever saw her parents smile at each other anymore. And now, well, now her mother smiled as if there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, while her father stood several steps away with a neutral look on his face. Josie knew the school meant a great deal to both of her parents, but that didn’t mean they would both stay no matter what happened.

A hand came down on Josie’s shoulder. “You okay?” Lizzie whispered, frowning at her sister.

Josie slowly breathed out, covering Lizzie’s hand with her own. Most of the time, Josie was Lizzie’s anchor, keeping her steady, but that wasn’t always the case. They had a way of feeling each other’s emotions, especially the strong ones. Lizzie could tell when Josie was hurting in ways others didn’t notice.

Josie – well aware of their mother’s perfect hearing – decided on a simple, “I’m fine.”

Lizzie squeezed Josie’s shoulder once, a sign she was there before she dropped her hand.

Caroline’s eyes rested on Josie for a beat, and then on Lizzie. “Okay,” she pressed on with a smile which now appeared forced. “Today we will-”

Dana’s jaw dropped. “Penelope, you’re orange!” she shouted for the whole camp to hear.

“Duh,” Penelope responded, throwing up her hands. “I’m orange,” she sighed, waving her orange ribbon, “you’re purple, and we both hate it. What the hell is the matter with you?”

“No, not your cabin,” Dana corrected with a shake of her head. “You!” she yelled, gesturing at Penelope. “You’re literally orange, Penny!”

“Yeah right, very funny,” Penelope muttered dryly. “Let me see that,” she said, whisking the pocket mirror Dana held out to her out of her hand.  

Josie’s mouth fell open because Penelope’s face was bright orange. It felt like karma for what Penelope did earlier today because Josie had no doubt Penelope was behind that, but this…Penelope’s face being orange, had revenge written all over it, and Josie wasn’t sure who did that to Penelope.  

“What’s the matter, Penelope?” Lizzie asked. She crossed her arms and smirked while Penelope screamed so loud it scared all of the birds away, “tan gone wrong?”

“I must say, it matches with your new haircut,” Lizzie continued. “Both are equally horrendous,” she mused. “You’re quite dedicated to this camp, huh?”

“Lizzie,” Josie whispered, tugging at her sister’s arm. “Did you do this?” she questioned silently, pulling Lizzie closer.

“I wish I had,” Lizzie answered, smiling from ear to ear, “because this is brilliant.”

Josie wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t. While others mocked Penelope, all Josie could think about was how she knew what it was like to be in Penelope’s shoes, to be the center of a joke. Josie wanted to believe Penelope had it coming, that she deserved it for being so, so mean, but Josie couldn’t because she didn’t wish being ridiculed on anyone.

“My face is ruined,” Penelope cried out. “Don’t look at me!”

“Can’t you fix it?” Dana asked Penelope while she tried to shield Penelope a little.

Penelope stomped away while Dana failed to hold back laughter.

Josie’s eyes roamed around, stopping at Hope who leaned casually against a tree. While everyone else did laugh, Hope just stood there, and it clicked in Josie’s head how Hope didn’t laugh this morning either when Josie got orange juice all over her.

The second Hope’s eyes met Josie’s, and Hope held her gaze, Josie knew. She had no proof and no idea why Hope did what she did, but it had to be her. Turning students orange wasn’t something they taught at school. Josie wouldn’t know how to, and Lizzie didn’t do it either, which left Hope.

Josie thought of how everyone always appeared to love Penelope, how her ex charmed everyone like a snake. Her whole life, Josie knew her sister always had her back no matter what. Now Hope seemed to have Josie’s back, too, and with that thought, Josie smiled at Hope.

Neither one of them looked away.

And eventually, slowly, Hope smiled back.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Hope breathed in the fresh air as she lingered about a mile away from her cabin. She peered up at the darkened sky, wishing full moon wouldn’t come tomorrow night, but she knew it was bound to anyway. For such a pretty sight it always was, it was never a fun experience to shift whether she wanted to or not.

While being the only one of her kind undoubtedly had its benefits, it also gave Hope some downsides to each part of her. Sure, she didn’t need a daylight ring to keep from burning up in the sun because her vampire side was protected by her werewolf and witch side, though when she smelled blood, she would be lying if she said it didn’t make her hungry.

As a witch as powerful as Hope was, she couldn’t help but sense how the dark side kept calling her like a siren, tempting her to give in. She felt it when she took revenge on Penelope for Josie, and Hope went too far. At first, she meant to turn Penelope’s hair orange just for a few hours. Instead, Hope made Penelope’s skin change color, which Hope reversed about an hour ago when Penelope cried out she couldn’t undo the spell.

Hope turned around; marching toward her cabin so she could read the book Alaric slipped her today, or stare at the ceiling. Opening the door, Hope saw the light was on, which was surprising because she could have sworn Josie would be with Lizzie until curfew forced Josie to come back.

But no, Josie was right there on her bed with her laptop. So far, the siphoner hadn’t noticed Hope’s presence. Josie appeared to have traded her clothes for blue shorts that stopped midway her thighs and a black and blue flannel shirt. Her hair was in loose curls, and Josie hummed, smiling while she played with a lock of her hair.

Hope’s eyes widened a little when Josie started singing. Hope felt like she was intruding on a private, personal moment, but she couldn’t take her eyes away, drawn to watch how relaxed Josie was, how carefree the young witch appeared. It was a welcome sight for sure.

“'Cause I wanna touch you, baby,” Josie sang while lying down on her stomach on her bed. “And I wanna feel you, too,” she continued, fully engrossed in the music playing through her headphones, swinging her legs back and forth a little. “I wanna see the sunrise and your sins, just me and you.”

Hope stayed put, finding it secretly cute to walk in on Josie like this, to catch her so enamored with a song she sang it out loud, and somewhat false. If it was up to Hope, Josie could sing every day, regardless of not having the best singing voice. Hope figured she hadn’t been caught staring due to Josie wearing headphones, and her solely paying attention to that song.

“Light it up,” Josie breathed out, scrolling through a list on her laptop. “On the run,” she continued while her eyes slowly traveled away from her screen to scan the room. “Let’s make love – Hope!”

Josie yanked her headphones off and in her hurry to shift the position she was in, she almost pushed her laptop onto the floor.

Hope’s eyebrows rose. “You’re quite forward tonight,” she chuckled, delighted when Josie blushed, which made her even more adorable. “I’m not familiar with the song you were singing,” Hope brought up, to cut Josie some slack from her teasing.

Hope wandered closer toward Josie’s bed. “Do you mind?” Hope questioned while pointing at Josie’s headphones.

“It’s dusk till dawn,” Josie sufficed, smiling softly as she handed her headphones to Hope, “but just so you know, it’s an addictive song, so don’t blame me if you find yourself singing it for the next few days, if not weeks.”

Hope returned Josie’s smile with one of her own. “It would make us even,” Hope reasoned.

Josie moved her lips from the right to the left. “Only if I’d walk in on you like a creep,” she replied, poking her tongue out the corner of her lips.

“Hey!” Hope objected with a guffaw, grabbing Josie’s pillow to gently smack her. “This happens to be my cabin, too,” Hope pointed out, placing the headphones on her head.

Hope blocked out every noise, aside from the music, listening closely to the lyrics. She had to hand it to Josie; the girl had taste because that song was pretty addictive.

“But you’ll never be alone,” Hope hummed along while it was Josie’s turn to stare. “I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn,” Hope sang, and okay, this song was cheesy, though also romantic and kind of sweet.

It was a bit too modern for Hope’s usual choice of music but definitely worth another listen or two sometime. The more she made an attempt at singing along, the more she saw Josie smiling, so Hope kept it up until the end of the song.

“We’re not even yet, but that was a start,” Josie said, taking her headphones back.

Hope half-heartedly rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Jo,” she sighed out with a smile, realizing a beat too late she nicknamed Josie.

If Josie noticed at all, which she probably did, she didn’t comment or complain. Josie’s only reaction was a tight-lipped smile, and then she put her headphones aside.

Hope plopped down on her bed, and she never thought she would miss school, but the beds there were way softer than the thin mattress this cabin provided. She reached for her old photograph, tracing her fingertip around the frame while she wished she could jump into that moment, that day, and live there forever, with her family.

“I…,” Josie began, chewing her bottom lip when Hope looked up at her. “I was thinking,” Josie tried, idly tucking her hair behind her ear. “About watching a movie,” she explained. “And maybe you’d like to watch it with me?”

Hope glanced at the picture, then back at Josie, and if she was honest, Hope could do with a distraction rather than sulk over the past. She knew it was normal for children to outlive their parents, that was how it was supposed to work, but Hope’s parents were immortal, they weren’t supposed to die.

“Sure, why not,” Hope shrugged.

Josie picked up her laptop. “We could watch it on your bed?”

Wordlessly, Hope scooted over to make some space for Josie. The small beds weren’t made to share, though they both fit with Hope’s back against the wall and Josie close to the edge of the bed.

Hope watched Josie fumble with the laptop, and again, Hope didn’t say anything when Josie moved closer, knowing she had to so she could put her laptop down.

It was awkward at first for Hope as she tried to figure out where to put her hands. She placed one on her hip and used the other to support her head so she could watch the screen over Josie’s shoulder.

“I chose Twilight,” Josie said while she hit play. “It doesn’t portray vampires and werewolves that well, but I kind of like watching Bella, and Alice, and the guys aren’t half bad either. But if the movie offends you, we can watch something else instead.”

“It’s fine, you can have your eye candy,” Hope poked.

Josie elbowed Hope gently in the ribs, squealing when Hope retaliated by putting her mouth on Josie’s neck, nipping at her skin, though not hard enough to bite. Hope would never purposefully hurt Josie, no, Hope felt far too protective of Josie to harm her.

After some back and forth poking, they both settled down.

Minutes went by, and somewhere in the span of those, Josie had moved closer toward Hope.

Hope hadn’t meant to stroke Josie’s hair. It happened absentminded while watching the movie. Hope decided Josie hadn’t noticed either or at least not yet if her peaceful silence was any sign of that. Surely, if Josie was aware of Hope’s fingers combing her hair, Josie would have poked Hope by now. It was exactly what she might have done if the roles were reversed.

Hope’s hand stilled on Josie’s shoulder, though that didn’t feel right. It felt ridiculous to Hope how she almost missed running her fingers through Josie’s hair. There was something relaxing about it all, something that made it feel right somehow.

Hope pondered resuming the gentle caress, but she pushed that idea as far away as she could when she felt Josie stir.

Josie let out a yawn, simultaneously stretching out her arms, curling up against Hope by pressing her back more against Hope’s front.

But Hope didn’t mind. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she whispered, petting the top of Josie’s head for a second in a moment of weakness. “Maybe you should call it a night,” Hope suggested, and if she was honest, she didn’t care one bit whether they finished that movie or not.

Watching films was such a rare experience for Hope, it bordered on boring. It felt like a waste of time, too mundane. She would rather paint or draw for a while near the lake, or practice spells she hadn’t quite mastered yet. Not that Hope wasn’t grateful for the distraction Josie offered because she was.

Despite all that, a small part of Hope wanted to finish the movie. Not for the sake of how it ended, she realized as her fingers itched to touch Josie’s hair again. Hope wondered if it felt as relaxing for Josie as it did for her, though there was no way Hope was going to ask.

“I’m not that sleepy,” Josie mumbled, miserably failing to stifle another yawn.

Hope bet Josie wouldn’t last another five minutes without falling asleep. “You might not be sleepy, but I am,” Hope lied, a tad jealous Josie could be out like a light in a minute if she wanted to, while Hope would be up half the night.

Hope didn’t want Josie to move away so soon, but that was selfish, so Hope lied, pretended she was just as sleepy so they could call it a night.

“This movie ends in about twenty minutes,” Josie said, turning around. “Do you think you can wait until then?”

Hope noticed the way Josie swallowed thickly, and she didn’t blame the siphoner. Now that Josie faced Hope, they were almost nose to nose. It was undeniable evidence of how close they had gotten while watching that movie, which neither one of them was now paying attention to.

Hope ran her hand through Josie’s hair, no longer caring if it was obvious. “I don’t see why not,” Hope sighed, and it was her turn to swallow when Josie’s hand came up to touch her cheek.

“Your bed feels cozier than mine.”

Up close like this, Hope saw every detail of Josie’s face; how she blinked faster when a strand of her hair touched her eyelashes, how pink her lips were, and how her chocolate brown eyes were easy to get lost in.

Hope brushed the offending lock aside, which earned her a small smile from Josie. “I doubt my bed is better than yours,” Hope reacted, though now that she temporarily shared it with Josie to watch a movie, it did feel a lot snugger than before.

“I’d let you stay the night,” Hope began, and she could have sworn on her powers Josie’s breath caught, “but I might kick you out, and you don’t heal the way I do. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Some risks are worth taking,” Josie blurted out. She averted her eyes, cheeks darkening as she inched away from Hope. “I’m a lot sleepier than I thought,” Josie said with the fakest yawn in history. “I should go to bed.”

“Mhmm, yes, good idea,” Hope agreed, focusing her gaze on a random spot on the wall. This night had gotten more sentimental than she liked, and it was better if both of them went back to their own devices as soon as possible.

Josie sighed audibly. “Good night, Hopey.”

Hope snorted. Okay, she had that coming for nicknaming Josie out of the blue earlier. Hopey was silly, but Hope was fine with it when she looked at Josie and saw her smile.

“Good night, Jolly Jo.”

Hope crawled under her sheets, biting back a huge smile due to Josie’s laughter filling up their cabin and her whispered _‘dork’_ Hope had to pretend she didn’t hear, though if Josie ever dared to call her Hopey in front of others, Hope was so going to kill her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm @Silent_Rain91 on Twitter. I could always use some Hosie content on there. They're a cute ship, and that's what I'm trying to portray.


	5. Chapter 5

“Sooo, what are you going to wear tonight?”

Josie raised a brow at her sister. “What do you mean?” she wondered with a slight shake of her head.

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Lizzie asked in turn, pushing clothes that belonged to Dana aside. “Ugh, that bitch needs to stick to her side of the closet or I’m going to stake her,” Lizzie grumbled silently, throwing some shirts onto the floor.

Josie opened her mouth and stretched out a hand to say or do something, but she decided against it, retracting her hand. It was barely seven in the morning, and Lizzie was particularly testy right before breakfast.

“Hmm, a dress or a tank top and jeans?” Lizzie voiced silently, holding up various pieces of clothing, examining them.

“Heard about what?” Josie questioned, pulling her sister’s attention back before Lizzie decided to try on everything she had, which might make them miss breakfast.

“I could have sworn M.G said he’d pass it on, ugh, boys these days, they’re so damn unreliable,” Lizzie muttered with a roll of her eyes. “There’s a party tonight, during the full moon. Just witches and a bunch of vampires,” she explained, waving a hand around. “No werewolves because, well, you know.”

“And don’t tell mom and dad,” Lizzie added with wide, serious eyes. “It starts at midnight, by the lake.”

Josie wished her sister would have said something sooner, though it wouldn’t be the first time someone planned a last-minute secret party. “Um, Liz, about the party…,” Josie began, scratching the back of her neck as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

Lizzie dropped her clothes, staring directly at Josie. “You’re going, right?” Lizzie asked, although it sounded more like a demand.

Josie wasn’t in the mood to go to a party where she would have to see Penelope, not after the last one where she set her ex’s hair on fire, though that wasn’t the only reason why Josie wanted to avoid going. The full moon was a big deal, and she didn’t want Hope to go through that alone, especially not when Hope was clearly hiding something she struggled with.

“I’m not,” Josie answered, feeling tension drop as she let her shoulders sag. “I’m sorry, Liz.”

Lizzie frowned deeply. “Why not? This is going to be the biggest party of the year, one we’ll never forget,” she tried, grabbing her sister’s hands.

Josie never lied to her sister, and keeping secrets was just as hard. “I want to get an early night, that’s all,” Josie explained, hoping Lizzie couldn’t sense how her stomach twisted.

“Jo…,” Lizzie sighed, searching Josie’s eyes, “is this about Penelope? Because I swear if she even looks at you the wrong way I’ll push her into the lake.”

“It is a little,” Josie admitted, relieved she could at least partially tell the truth. “But I’m really just tired and in need of some extra sleep. I’m sorry, Liz. Next time, okay?”

Josie was awash with guilt when Lizzie released her hands and moved a little too quickly, holding a top upside down. As much as Josie wanted to give in, she had to stand her ground and do what she wanted instead of what Lizzie wanted.

“I wonder if they’ll have coffee,” Lizzie hummed, glancing at the door. “Dad always drinks a cup, so there’s got to be some.”

The last thing Lizzie needed when she was on edge was coffee, but Josie decided commenting would be futile. It was better not to sour the mood any further, not when Josie got up at six in the morning to see how her sister was doing, while Hope was still soundly asleep with her chest rising and falling in even breaths.

Josie might have observed Hope for a minute, give or take. Could have been three, or ten, but who was counting anyway? After spending nearly half the night hearing Hope toss and turn in her bed to the point where it kept Josie awake, it was nice seeing Hope peacefully asleep.

“I think I’ll settle for water this time,” Josie sighed, following her sister out the door, not wanting to give Penelope another chance to ruin her clothes. At least water dried up without leaving ugly stains, though after that one incident, Penelope had left Josie alone.

“Good morning, sweethearts,” their mother called out to them while she approached.

The twins smiled at the same time. “Good morning, mom,” they responded, going in for a hug.

Caroline wrapped her arms around Josie and Lizzie, lifting them off of their feet a couple of inches, even though they were no longer those little five-year-old munchkins Caroline would spin a circle with while hugging.

Tight hugs were Josie’s favorite, especially her mother’s hugs. Josie couldn’t care less if anyone saw or not. She missed her mother too much before this camping trip to pretend she was too cool to get a hug in public.

“Josie,” Carline said when she let go. “Come have a word with me, honey.”

Josie sighed, and she should have known their mother walking up to them wasn’t a random occurrence. “Mom, I’m fine, I swear. I had a bad day yesterday because of the orange juice incident, but I’m feeling much better today,” Josie assured, which she had Hope to thank for because last night was something she wished to repeat.

Their shared laughter, all of the teasing, the goofy nicknames; a memory like that was worth its weight in gold. Josie had meant to distract Hope from her sadness, but in turn, perhaps unknowingly, Hope had done the same for Josie.

Josie’s heart sped up, recalling how Hope ran her fingers through her hair. Nobody had done that since the early phase of Josie’s relationship with Penelope. The tender moments between them didn’t last long at all, and oftentimes Josie wondered why she stuck around long enough for Penelope to crush her heart while Josie should have left Penelope after the first two weeks they dated.

But Josie didn’t want to think about Penelope anymore. No, Josie wanted to go back to her memories of the time she spent with Hope. Josie wasn’t sure if Hope stroked her hair on purpose or not, though there was no denying it was on purpose when they faced each other. Josie had no idea what it meant, if anything, but it felt nice.

“Ahem,” Caroline uttered, clearing her throat. “Someone has her head in the clouds, hm?” she noted with a gentle smile, placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Care to share who’s making your heart beat that fast?”

“Mom!” Josie groaned, pushing her mother’s hand away. “It’s not fair when you use your powers on me. You said you wouldn’t pry.”

“I said I’d try,” Caroline corrected. “I’ve been worried about you, honey. I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Josie sighed. “I know, mom,” she whispered with a rueful look in her eyes. “Would you mind sitting in between Lizzie and me during breakfast? Dad can sit next to Lizzie. It’s just, we both missed you so much.”

“Of course, sweetheart. I know my frequent absence hasn’t been easy on either one of you.”

“Are you and dad okay?” Josie asked, chewing the inside of her cheek.

“It sounds to me like I’m not the only one who’s worried, hm?” Caroline observed, pulling her daughter into a hug. “Your dad and I are friends. We run the school together, and we try to do what’s best for you and your sister. We’ll always have your best interest at heart.”

“Being gone so much isn’t what’s best for us!” Josie replied before she could stop herself. “I… I’m sorry, mom, I didn’t mean to say that. Lizzie and I missed you, that’s all. But you’re here now and that’s what matters.”

Caroline’s face fell when tears rolled down Josie’s cheeks. “Oh, honey,” Caroline whispered, hugging her arms around her daughter.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hope got dressed in what had to be under a minute. She couldn’t believe she actually slept longer than Josie, and from the looks of her roommate’s empty bed, Josie didn’t have the patience to wait for Hope or to wake her up. Hope reasoned Josie probably went to go be with her sister, but it still stung a bit.

Hope decided to sprint before the cafeteria was packed, only, that didn’t go so well.

Lizzie huffed when she walked right into Hope. “Watch where you’re going!” Lizzie sneered while she gave Hope a push.

Hope’s eyes changed color and a bit of spit made it down her chin. “How about you watch where you’re going!” she shot back with just as much rage. She balled her fists, taking harsh breaths in an attempt to calm down before she jumped and pounced.

Full moon was tonight, so Hope was already on edge as it was, and didn’t need Lizzie or anyone else to give her an extra push. “What’s gotten you into such a foul mood anyway?” Hope scoffed because at least she had an excuse.

Lizzie crossed her arms over her chest. Her face resembled an oncoming storm, and Hope definitely wasn’t in the mood for one of Lizzie’s tantrums because everyone had problems dammit, but that didn’t mean they had to be taken out on others.

Lizzie sighed as if answering Hope’s question was the most exhausting thing she had to do. Hope was amazed she hadn’t outright smacked Lizzie, especially after that uncalled for push.

“It’s Josie,” Lizzie answered finally when Hope no longer anticipated an explanation.

Hope nodded, more to herself than in response to Lizzie. Josie had to be why Hope didn’t bite off Lizzie’s head, why Hope held back enough to calm down. Because she knew hurting Lizzie meant hurting Josie, and Hope couldn’t do that.

Lizzie deflated, dropping her arms. “She’s been acting off,” she shared. “Mom’s talking to her right now.”

Hope frowned. “Off how?”

“First she doesn’t want to go to a party with me and then-”

Hope scoffed. “Do you ever think about anyone other than yourself?” she snapped without thinking, hating how often Josie had to set her needs and wishes aside to please Lizzie, such as the whole silly having dibs on someone thing.

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. She stood there, staring at Hope as if she had grown a second head.

“No, wait, you do,” Hope admitted with a sigh, biting her tongue. She didn’t want her big mouth to bite her in the ass later if Lizzie were to tell Josie about this, not when Hope was finally reaching a genuine friendship with her. “You kept that gargoyle on school property, made sure it couldn’t escape out into the world.”

Lizzie closed her mouth. “I shouldn’t have pushed you,” she replied, rubbing her right arm with her left hand. “I’m better at controlling my anger when Josie’s around. She’s the yang to my yin.”

“We can forget we bumped into each other,” Hope offered, wanting to let it go for both their sakes.

Lizzie hummed and went to turn around, but she paused. “Penelope’s skin,” she said, glancing over her shoulder to look at Hope, “that was you.”

Hope couldn’t feel any pride upon seeing Lizzie smirk, only shame, and guilt. “I didn’t like her attitude,” Hope brushed off with a shrug. “It was an accident.”

“There’s a party tonight. I’d invite you if it wasn’t for the fact you’re one-third werewolf, so, unfortunately, I can’t. It’s such a pity, but we are what we are.”

Hope couldn’t help but pick up on the underlying poke. “It’s fine, I don’t care for parties anyway,” she replied, shrugging a shoulder. “Thanks for thinking about me on the onset of a full moon though. I’m sure Raphael appreciates your sentiment of wishing he could be there, if only he wasn’t a werewolf. I’ll tell him you said hi,” Hope added sweetly, taking pleasure in the way Lizzie stomped off as if her parade was just rained upon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people wanted interactions with Lizzie, so here you go. I know there was no Hosie in this chapter, but there's only so much I can put into a chapter. There will be more Hosie soon. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Alaric clapped his hands together, gaining everyone’s attention. “Hello, students.”

Josie smiled when her mother corrected her father by saying, “cadets.”

“Lame,” Lizzie sighed, leaning onto her sister’s shoulder. “I wonder what kind of activity they have planned this time. It better not be something as boring as a hike again.”

Josie grimaced, remembering how several students complained about yesterday’s activity, and if she was honest, she didn’t exactly like it either. Right now, they stood in the cafeteria, which gave Josie the idea they were going to stay here and do something with whatever her mother hid under the white blanket she stood in front of.

“Today, you will be making cupcakes,” Alaric said.

“And you can decorate them however you like,” Caroline added.

“Cupcakes, bloody cupcakes!?” Dana grumbled. “Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck is the point of that?”

“Mind your language, young lady,” Caroline warned. “And we will not tolerate that tone of yours either.”

“This is a free country, I’ll curse when I feel like it,” Dana replied with a huff. “I’m a vampire. How the fuck am I supposed to eat cupcakes?”

“Yeah,” another vampire agreed.

“Vampires shouldn’t be here, baking cupcakes,” Dana continued. “Why can’t we do our hair and paint our nails instead?”

M.G scrunched up his nose. “I don’t want to paint my nails,” he muttered.

“I don’t want to do this either, and I’m not a vampire,” Penelope spoke up, siding with Dana. “Do you have any idea how fattening cupcakes are?”

Josie dragged her hands down her face. If she had to listen to Penelope and Dana whine for one more second she was going to gag them. Ugh, Josie couldn’t believe how she ever let Penelope charm her into dating.

“My body is a temple, you know?” Penelope huffed, gesturing at herself. “I didn’t get this fit from wasting my time with carbs.”

“Shut up, you obnoxious bitch!” Josie snapped. “Nobody said you’d have to eat them.”

“Josie!” Caroline and Alaric interrupted with a pointed look. “Language,” Caroline added with a sigh.

“Argh!” Josie groaned, stomping her foot. She gritted her teeth, deflating when she caught Hope staring, mildly embarrassed because this wasn’t Josie’s finest moment.

Josie hated how she had let Penelope get under her skin again, even now when Penelope’s words weren’t directed at Josie personally. She took Lizzie’s hand while steadying her breathing, soothed by the way Lizzie ran her thumb across the back of her hand.

The sudden feel of a warm hand grabbing her free hand startled Josie. It didn’t last longer than a second or two, just a quick squeeze, and when Josie looked down, she saw it was Hope. Although it was a fleeting moment that went by much faster than Josie liked, she sent Hope a small, grateful smile.

Lizzie must have noticed, judging from the daggers she now stared at Hope. Josie hoped her sister’s reaction wouldn’t discourage Hope from doing that again in the future. It was nice for Josie, knowing she could count on Hope offering a bit of comfort.

Eventually, Lizzie would come around and befriend Hope the way Josie began to befriend her. The bubble of that idea burst when they had to team up to make cupcakes. Lizzie begrudgingly agreed to share a space with Hope, considering groups had to count at least four members, and roommates had to stick together.

On that note, Josie didn’t want her sister to get close to Hope the way she did. Josie indubitably wanted the two of them to get along, though the bond she slowly but surely developed with Hope was special and private, and for once Josie wanted something she wouldn’t have to share.

Josie didn’t want Hope to stroke Lizzie’s hair, or to snuggle up to watch a movie. No, it was more than enough if Hope and Lizzie learned to see eye to eye. 

“I’m not good at this,” Hope commented, sighing when pieces of eggshell fell into her bowl.

Josie glanced around, daring to be a bit bolder now that her sister went to fetch some chocolate to add to her cupcakes. “And here I thought you did that on purpose,” Josie said, nudging Hope’s side in good nature, “early decoration and all that.”

Hope’s smile did wicked things to Josie’s heart. “Shut up,” Hope laughed silently, and that right there brought Josie back to that afternoon where they picked up trash together.

Hope’s words carried the same friendly affection as they did that day, accompanied with that same smile, if not a bit brighter and warmer.

“I can fish them out for you while you continue with mine,” Josie offered.

Hope’s eyebrows went up. “Do you not see the amount of eggshells in my bowl?” she asked, pointing her index finger at said eggshells. “What makes you think my second attempt will be any better?”

Josie shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe I like seeing you all clumsy for a change,” she replied, a tad rushed, spotting her sister coming back.

Hope guffawed. She grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it at Josie.

Josie gasped, and there was no way she was going to let Hope get away with that, so she helped herself to two handfuls of flour. Their mini-food fight turned into a domino effect as every student began to attack one another with the ingredients.

Josie laughed as Penelope and Dana screamed about their clothes, and yelled at others to stop throwing food at them. Even though her clothes were now covered with eggs, flour, and smudges of chocolate, Josie had a good time.

Josie stopped to stare at Hope when she saw the tribrid dipping her finger in a bowl of chocolate.

“What?” Hope inquired, licking her finger clean. “A food fight isn’t going to stop me from enjoying chocolate.”

“That we can agree on,” Lizzie interrupted, and Josie had almost forgotten her sister was even there.

Hope hummed. “Want some?” she questioned, holding out her chocolate-covered finger.

Josie thought her sister would say no due to hygiene reasons, especially when Lizzie pulled up her nose, but Josie was proven wrong.

“Argh, screw it,” Lizzie mumbled. “It’s chocolate.”

Josie’s eye twitched when Lizzie licked Hope’s finger clean. It wasn’t right, and Josie definitely didn’t like it one bit when Hope smiled at Lizzie instead of at her, but it probably meant nothing. Josie mentally told herself to get a grip, and as a distraction, she bombarded M.G with eggs.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hope held a butterfly in her hands. She couldn’t stop the single tear rolling down her cheek as she remembered how the first time her father saw her use magic, was when she fixed a butterfly’s wing.

If only her healing powers were much stronger, so Hope could have saved her father. She also wished she would have done something to avoid her mother dying. The countless what ifs gnawed at Hope, made her doubt the path she walked.

Hope let the small creature stretch it wings as she opened her hands. In between its fluttering, she caught a glimpse of the moon. It was almost time; just a few more minutes, Hope guessed.

Hope could choose not to turn, fight to stay in control, which was a power she had as a tribrid. The only time she had to turn against her will was the first time after she indirectly killed someone. But shifting on a full moon gave Hope an outlet to deal with her rage. She needed this night, needed to run until her lungs burned, though they never did for long.

There wasn’t much of a wind tonight to rustle the leaves, so when Hope heard something nearby, she turned toward the direction of the sound. “Come out,” she demanded with a stern tone. Her eyes flickered a yellow-gold color while her blood pumped faster through her veins.

“With my hands up?” came the response, dressed up in a light chuckle.

But Hope wasn’t laughing or smiling. On the contrary; her blood got warmer as the full moon approached, and she hated being spied on. Her eyes widened incredulously when Josie dared step closer to her.

“Go away!” Hope snapped, balling her fists at her side.

Josie shook her head. “I’m not leaving,” she replied, taking another step. Her heartbeat remained even, unchanged.

Hope sighed audibly. “Shouldn’t you be at the party?”

Josie rolled her lips into her mouth and stared at the ground for a beat. “I didn’t feel like going,” she answered, chewing her lower lip when she lifted her head. “I’d rather stay here and keep you company for a bit.”

Hope groaned loudly because come on! Tonight was not the night for a friendly hangout or anything that required any social interaction whatsoever. “You have to go,” she insisted, stepping away to punctuate her words. “Or you might end up getting hurt,” she added when Josie didn’t budge.

“No,” Josie spoke, once again going near Hope. Josie’s heart skipped a beat the second she entered Hope’s personal space. “I’m not going anywhere,” Josie whispered, her voice nowhere near as shaky as her hand when she lifted it up to Hope’s face.

Hope caught Josie’s wrist in a grip that was neither bruising nor gentle. “Why not?” Hope inquired through clenched teeth, and her earlier warning wasn’t one Josie should take lightly, not when Hope was capable of snapping Josie’s wrist as if it were a twig.

Hope genuinely didn’t want to harm Josie; hence she gave the young witch a fair warning. If only Josie wasn’t so darn stubborn and would understand she ought to make a run for it before Hope did something she would regret.

Josie glanced at her trapped wrist, then at Hope. “Because I trust you, Hope,” Josie sighed ever so softly, wriggling her fingers until Hope let go of her wrist.

“Josie…,” Hope whispered, taking several steps back to put more distance between them immediately. “You don’t understand,” she pleaded, holding up her hands.

Much to Hope’s frustration, Josie approached her despite all of the warnings. “Then make me understand.”

That was it, the final drop that made the bucket run over, though to Hope it felt more like a flood. She grabbed Josie’s upper arms and pushed her against a tree, hearing Josie’s heart skip a beat. Hope kept Josie pinned with her body while her eyes were glowing, and the moon became full.

Josie’s breath mingled with Hope panting. Their noses were but an inch away from one another, brushing a little when Hope moved. Josie lifted her hand once more, caressing Hope’s cheek. The corners of Josie’s eyes softened.

“What are you so afraid of?” Josie asked, searching Hope’s eyes.

Hope laughed, out loud. “Afraid? Me?” she chuckled while she fought off the temptation to shift, to avoid accidentally clawing Josie. They were too close for Hope to turn, to take the risk. “You’re the one who’s pinned against a tree.”

“Yes, but you’re the one who’s afraid.”

Hope scoffed. She was a Mikaelson, a tribrid.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me I’m wrong,” Josie said, holding Hope’s gaze, “and if I am, I’ll never bring this up again.”

Hope took a step back and turned around. She wanted to shift and run away as fast as possible. Instead, a hand touched her shoulder; Josie’s.

“It’s about my father,” Hope confessed, unable to face Josie when she felt like putting her fist through every tree within a one-mile radius. “He used to have the worst temper, and his reputation isn’t mild, to say the least,” Hope shared with a small smile, knowing her father loved her with everything he had, and she couldn’t have wished for a better one.

“I’m afraid,” Hope admitted in a whisper. “I’m afraid to lose control because of my anger,” she said, a little louder, more certain. “We are what we are,” she mused darkly, recalling Lizzie’s words from this morning. “And I’m a Mikaelson,” Hope concluded.

Josie walked around Hope until they faced one another. “You’re so much more than the anger you feel,” Josie uttered, tucking a stray lock of Hope’s hair behind her ear. “You’re brave, beautiful, strong,-”

“Beautiful, hm?” Hope interrupted as the hint of a smile played on her lips.

Josie rolled her eyes and smiled. “You know you are, shut up,” she mumbled, blushing slightly. “You’re allowed to feel angry, you know? It’s not healthy to keep it all inside anyway. Sometimes you need to scream it out or tear a couple of pillows apart.”

Hope fell silent and stared at Josie for a while, surprised Josie chose to be here with her over going to a party, and despite Hope’s initial sour mood, Josie didn’t leave. While Hope observed Josie, she noticed Josie’s cheeks darkened, and well, that was cute.

With a soft sigh, Hope accepted Josie wasn’t going anywhere.

Hope smacked her lips together in thought. “How fast can you run?” she wondered, feeling adrenalin rush through her body.

Josie blinked, lips slightly parted. “Not fast enough to keep up with a werewolf.”

“Did you ever struggle with motion sickness?”

Josie’s jaw dropped. “Are...are you… suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

Hope couldn’t believe she was either. “Only if you solemnly vow to never tell anyone I let you ride me,” she answered, spinning her finger to tell Josie she had to turn around so she could take off her clothes and shift without Josie looking at her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))


	7. Chapter 7

Josie buried her fingers in Hope’s thick fur. She expected it to be rough for some reason, but it was the opposite; every hair felt as smooth as silk. Josie wasn’t sure if she was doing this right while she tried to balance her weight properly, hands close to Hope’s neck.

In Josie’s defense, she never even rode a horse, so how was she supposed to know how riding a werewolf was supposed to work? And what if her hold was too tight, thus hurting Hope, or too light, which would lead to falling? On top of that, Josie worried about crushing Hope, even though the tribrid had the combined strength of a vampire and a werewolf.

If Lizzie saw Josie doing this while she made her sister believe she missed the party to sleep, Lizzie would throw a fit, and likely not speak to Josie for a day or two. Lizzie’s hot temper always blew over after a while, but Josie didn’t want to explain any of this to her sister.

Lizzie wouldn’t understand why Josie chose Hope’s company over a party by the lake. Josie barely understood it herself, and she didn’t want to overthink it too much.

Josie appreciated the fact Hope didn’t start running the second she had swung her leg over Hope’s back. “It’s tempting to pet you,” Josie admitted aloud.

Hope turned her head as far back as she could and narrowed her golden-yellow eyes at Josie.

Josie chuckled at the sight. “But I won’t,” she added in afterthought because while she believed Hope had slightly more bark than bite to her, the latter certainly shouldn’t be underestimated, and Josie didn’t want to ruin this.

Hope was no prize or a shiny trinket or some toy by any means; nothing that even remotely resembled a possession. But for once Josie wanted to be a little bit selfish and not sweep this under the rug for Lizzie who would either disapprove of any and all interactions with Hope or take up all of Hope’s attention.

Josie didn’t want to share this recent special connection with her sister, though with Lizzie that wasn’t the accurate term to frame it, considering Josie walked in her sister’s shadow. It didn’t matter; it never did in the past. Josie liked seeing Lizzie happy and seeing her sister’s dreams fulfilled. 

But this was different. Josie didn’t want to lose the softness Hope hid behind her rough edges, not when Josie had something similar in the past with Penelope until it all fell apart. It wasn’t Lizzie’s fault Penelope cheated. Josie would never put the blame on her sister when it was all Penelope’s doing, but Josie also knew the numerous times she kept putting Penelope second to place Lizzie first, caused cracks in the relationship Josie had with Penelope.

Josie took a deep breath in and slowly released it with a nod at Hope. The pace Hope set began leisurely, no faster than walking quickly. Josie’s loose curls whipped over her shoulders, moved by the gentle breeze. While she wasn’t the best tracker without using spells, she could tell they moved further and further away from the lake by looking at the pattern of the stars in the sky.

Hope ran faster, causing Josie to jostle until she fell forward. Led by her reflexes; Josie closed her eyes, simultaneously winding her arms around Hope’s neck to avoid falling. Josie’s heart was in her throat as she awaited the possibility of Hope losing her balance.

But nothing happened. The wind kept flowing through Josie’s hair, and Hope continued to run. Josie counted to three in her head, but when she opened her eyes, she really wished she hadn’t. A high-pitched – though not particularly loud – scream escaped Josie.

“Are you out of your mind??”

Josie’s arms tightened so much around Hope’s neck she would have snapped it if she had supernatural strength.

“Hope…I swear, if you jump over bushes again with me on your back, I will…do something,” Josie warned, sighing when Hope shot her a wink.

“Really?” Josie whispered, groaning.

Josie never had a werewolf wink at her before. She hated how annoyingly smug Hope was being, and Josie could imagine Hope’s matching smirk, but at the same time, Josie loved those small moments between them.

Hope leapt through the air five more times, in roughly two-minute intervals where Josie’s heartbeat barely had the chance to go back to normal. During the last one, Josie found she wouldn’t mind if Hope did that again, even if her heart tried to beat itself free from its ribbed cage.

Hope slowed down after what must have been an hour of running, if not more. Josie was in awe of Hope’s incredible endurance, so much so, she complimented the tribrid.

Josie’s cheeks felt a little hot when she swung her leg over Hope to get her feet back on the ground when Hope waited for her to turn around so she could shift back into her human form. Josie tried hard not to stare at the clothes strewn around as she took four steps, turned around, and closed her eyes in respect of Hope’s privacy.

Josie figured her cheeks were warm because Hope was hot; literally, although physically that statement wasn’t any less true.

“Okay,” Josie spoke up when she didn’t hear any sign Hope was getting dressed, “my eyes are closed.”

Still, Josie didn’t hear a sound. She bet Hope never felt cold, though surely Hope was eager to get dressed.

A shiver ran down Josie’s spine when she felt arms slide around her waist. She bit down on her lip as warm hands touched the skin around her eyes. Hope’s steps were so feather light, her approach and sudden close proximity, made Josie hold her breath.

Lips brushed the underside of Josie’s ear, and oh god, their height difference was killing her. “Are your eyes still closed?” Hope whispered, breath tickling Josie’s skin.

Josie didn’t trust her voice to work, so she opted for a nod. Then, Hope’s body moved fluidly around Josie’s, guided by an invisible current. Josie could do nothing but feel it as she kept her eyes closed.

“Did you mean what you said?” Hope asked while she inched her fingertips down Josie’s arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake before Hope took Josie’s hands in hers. “Do you trust me, Jo?”

Josie wasn’t sure if she could open her eyes yet, deciding not to until Hope said she could. “I meant it, every word of what I said,” Josie assured, which also included how she called Hope beautiful. “Tonight, I trust you,” Josie promised, squeezing when she felt Hope’s hold on her hands slip.

Hope chuckled; light and warm. “You can hold my hand again soon,” she said, squeezing back. “If you open your eyes now, I can…,” she paused as she ran her thumbs over the back of Josie’s hands before letting go. “Help you into this tree,” Hope concluded.

Something about Hope’s tone was different after her pause, as if she meant to say something else, but changed her mind. The sigh Hope added after she stopped talking sounded heavy.

Finally, Hope’s words sank in. “Into what now??” Josie rushed out, opening her eyes at the same time.

And oh, Hope stood close enough for their foreheads to touch if both made an equal effort to lean into each other’s space by an inch or three. Josie swallowed that idea down. Now was not the time to act like a hopeless romantic with a just as hopeless crush.

Not that Josie had a crush on Hope. Pff, hah, no. No way. Josie wasn’t into her old frenemy; that would be ridiculous. So what if she couldn’t take her eyes off of Hope? Who wouldn’t stop and stare at someone that unique? It was nothing out of the ordinary.  

Hope pointed at a nearby tree. “The view is gorgeous up top,” she explained, and it was no surprise to Josie Hope would know that sort of stuff. “You have to see it at least once while we’re here,” Hope insisted with a smile that was powerful enough to convince Josie to give her one of her kidneys.

Hope sized Josie up; just slow enough to lack subtlety. “Not that the view down here isn’t pretty,” Hope mused.

“You really think I’m pretty?” Josie looked down, tucked her hair behind her ear, and barely dared to meet Hope’s eyes for a second or two at a time.

Josie wasn’t trying to get back at Hope for how Hope teased Josie when she called Hope beautiful. It was difficult for Josie to imagine someone as special as Hope could think anything worthwhile of her.

A smile tugged at Hope’s lips, and the words she spoke with such deep sorrow earlier this very night now sounded much happier as she answered with, “we are what we are.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hope’s thigh touched Josie’s as they sat on a branch. It was high enough to drink in the view. Hope’s right hand rested on Josie’s lower back, ensuring the young witch wouldn’t lose her balance and fall.

If Josie hadn’t sought out Hope tonight, there was no way she would have shared this.

Hope kept pondering about the compliment Josie gave her. “Does my endurance really impress you that much?” Hope questioned when her curiosity got the upper hand.

Josie sighed. “There you go poking again.”

“I am not poking,” Hope denied with a smile. “I’m asking a genuine question, which you are avoiding.”

“It does impress me. You ran for what must have been an hour, if not two, carrying me on your back, and you’re not even out of breath. When I run for five minutes, my legs are on fire and I feel as if my lungs are going to collapse. Is it so shocking I compliment you?”

Hope lifted a brow. “Is it so shocking I think you’re pretty?” she threw back, smile not fading in the slightest.

Hope’s eyes twinkled in delight when Josie instantly blushed. Turning Josie’s cheeks crimson without using a spell without a doubt made it into Hope’s top ten favorite things to do.

While they enjoyed the view together, one topic led to another. They talked about where they grew up, their favorite subjects at school, which kind of food was their guilty pleasure, and much more.

“I’ll tell you about my first kiss if you tell me about yours first,” Hope bargained.

Josie moved her lips from left to right. It was cute how she pretended to think about it as if Hope didn’t know Josie was going to agree anyway.

“Okay fine,” Josie relented. “I had my first kiss with Penelope. It happened at a Halloween party. Everyone was having a good time, but I wasn’t enjoying myself. I snuck away to get some air, and Penelope followed me. We kissed behind the school. It felt special at the time to be kissed by the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about.”

Hope opened her mouth to say something, but Josie beat her to it by adding, “your turn.”

Fair was fair, Hope realized with a sigh. “When my mom went missing and I was trying to find her, I thought I was going to die,” she shared, wishing she had known it would turn out the other way around. “I had this bucket list of things I wanted to do, and having my first kiss was one of them. Roman was there for me. I didn’t know he was involved in my mother’s kidnapping, so I kissed him.”

“Sometimes I tried to tell myself that first kiss didn’t count,” Hope continued, but she knew she couldn’t erase what was done. “Then Landon and I kissed, and it turned out a second first kiss isn’t that much better because he lied to me.”

Hope’s expressions softened when Josie gazed deeply into her eyes. Next thing Hope knew, soft lips were on hers. Before she could process what happened, Josie pulled away.

Josie ran a hand through her hair. “Three times is a charm?”

Despite this being nothing but a kiss out of pity, Hope thought it was sweet. She bit back a smile, averting her eyes to stare at the moon. Maybe there was some truth to three times being a charm.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Josie could no longer hide the truth, not from herself at least. She had a crush on Hope, one that wasn’t helped upon discovering today’s activity. Josie didn’t think she would actually get to see Hope undress, and yet here they were.

The sun shone with not a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect idyllic weather to go for a swim, and the entirely wrong one for Josie’s heart to stutter. The feeling of Hope’s lips lingered. Josie couldn’t believe she made such an impulsive move, with Hope, who at times intimidated Josie, though lately, she felt Hope was much more approachable and less prickly than she used to be.

If Hope’s hand wasn’t on Josie’s back last night, keeping her steady, Josie surely would have fallen from how much her mind reeled at the dizziness and intoxicating taste of Hope’s supple lips. Josie wanted to kiss Hope again the second she stopped, but the shock of her actions was too strong and combined with Hope making no move to reciprocate, Josie held back with an impromptu excuse about three times being a charm.

It was silly, really, though Hope appeared to buy it, and as such, they didn’t talk about that kiss. Last night went on as if it never happened. Josie kept up some small talk with Hope until they both called it a night, at which point they snuck back to their cabin like thieves in the night, way past curfew.

Hope pulled her shirt over her head, revealing what she had on underneath, along with plenty of skin on display. She whipped her head back, ran a hand through her hair and tousled it a little.

Josie had a mild cardiac arrest at the sight of Hope in a bikini. The dark green top and matching underwear did nothing to hide Hope’s toned stomach. Wow okay, that was the hottie Josie kissed last night.

Sadly, she worried Hope thought that kiss meant absolutely nothing whatsoever. Josie genuinely started to like Hope, as more than a friend, which is what prompted Josie to attach her lips to Hope’s; that and the sadness in Hope’s voice when she spoke of having kissed the wrong people. But Josie felt too afraid to confess she had a crush on Hope. It was a reality Josie just accepted overnight, one she wasn’t ready to share.

Josie quickly glanced away before Hope had the chance to catch her looking, and quite possibly drooling. Whoever came up with the idea to swim today was both a genius sending a blessing Josie’s way and a villain to tempt Josie to walk up to Hope and lay one on her.

From what Josie observed, most girls had a bikini on, which made her feel somewhat out of place with the simple black swimming suit she had on. She felt more naked than the others looked, not that anyone seemed to pay attention to Josie, except for Penelope, who grinned like a sly devil ready to dunk someone’s head under the water.

Until Penelope’s eyes traveled to Josie’s left, at which point Penelope’s demeanor changed from slick to glancing away with a bored huff. Josie frowned, chancing a look to her left, jumping up a bit due to how Hope stood about two steps away from her when a mere moment ago, Hope wasn’t anywhere that close to Josie.

Josie wasn’t sure when Hope crossed the distance in the brief moment Josie was distracted by Penelope, which effectively made Josie’s mind flood with the memory of how she kissed Hope. It felt surreal, and Josie wished Hope would pull her into a searing kiss, though definitely not in public like this where Lizzie could see it happening.

“Swimming?” Landon perked up, pulling a face as some people jumped into the water. “I…,” he sighed. “I can’t swim.”

“Then drown,” Hope grumbled silently, but due to how close she stood by Josie, Josie heard her.

“Come, Jo,” Lizzie said, grabbing her sister’s arm. “M.G and Rafael are in the water already.”

Josie followed Lizzie into the water, shivering when Hope dove into the lake as well, though in all fairness, the water was on the slightly colder side, and as a witch, Josie couldn’t block off temperatures as easy as vampires and werewolves could.

Lizzie shrieked when M.G splashed water at her. “M.G!! I will get you for that!” Lizzie shouted, swimming after M.G as he tried to get away.

Josie chuckled, knowing M.G had it bad for Lizzie, but unfortunately, Lizzie was oblivious to M.G’s feelings and only had eyes for Rafael. Within seconds, Josie was left alone because Rafael got out of the water to talk to Landon.

“You look like you’re freezing.”

Josie startled, accidentally splashing water at her company. “Hope,” she whispered, holding her hands up as best as she could to let Hope know she didn’t mean to.

Hope didn’t retaliate. “You’re shivering,” she noted through big, worried eyes. “Come here,” she said ever so softly, opening her arms. “I’ll warm you up.”

Josie felt warmer already and Hope hadn’t laid a hand on her yet. Josie’s cheeks had to be bright red, though she could blame it on the temperature of the water. She quickly glanced around, seeing Lizzie had swum further away, still chasing M.G. Josie figured nobody would notice, not while they were underwater, so she stretched out her arms.

“Okay?” Hope checked, smiling thinly when Josie confirmed with a nod.

Josie released a shaky breath as Hope’s warm hands and arms circled around her waist. “It must be nice to be this hot all the time,” Josie commented before she could think better of it, but it didn’t matter if Hope would tease her.

“It sure is right now,” Hope replied while she caressed Josie’s back. “Hey, Jo?”

“Yes, Hope?”

“About last night,” Hope began, and just like that, Josie forgot to breathe. Oh no, no, no, no, she shouldn’t have kissed Hope. “Thanks for trusting me,” Hope finished, winding her arms tighter around Josie, pressing her body closer, making Josie unable to breathe for an entirely different reason.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hope sat at a picnic table with her sketchbook in front of her and a pencil in her hand. Most students were still playing around in the lake while others swarmed around the barbecue Alaric set up. Hope, on the other end, had long chucked on a shirt and wasn’t that hungry yet.

Hope tapped the end of her pencil against the paper while she peered around; trying to pinpoint a view she wanted to sketch first. Here, in the middle of nature, there was plenty of inspiration to draw from. Her eyes traveled from one tree to another; one leaning more to the right and the other more to the left, one taller and another shorter.

But despite the shades of green Hope loved to sketch when she had some time to spare, they didn’t quite catch her eye like the large rock near the lake, although that wasn’t exactly what grasped Hope’s attention but rather who sat there, watching the sun reflect onto the water.

Josie’s left leg hovered a little bit in the air with her foot placed sideways on the rock. Her right leg was bent with her foot placed flat on the rock. Josie’s left hand touched the rock while her right arm casually rested on her right knee.

Even from a distance, Hope could tell Josie’s hair was still damp from the lake. A few strands stuck to Josie’s cheeks and forehead. With a smile, Hope brought her pencil closer to her paper, deciding she needed to look no further.

Hope wanted to capture every detail, in particular, Josie’s brown eyes, which Hope could see right in front of her even if she were to close her eyes. Stealing glimpses, Hope sketched away, drawing Josie and the rock on the left side of her paper, and the lake on the right.

Earlier, in the water, Hope meant to bring up the fact Josie kissed her last night, but she chickened out. It was a pity kiss, and Hope was a fool if she considered for even a second Josie like-liked her. Hope spent the rest of the night thinking she might have returned the kiss if her brain had caught up before Josie pulled back.

It confused Hope.

A lot.

Her whole life, Hope assumed she only liked guys in a romantic way, and now she wasn’t sure if that was accurate. Then again, she was only seventeen, plus it took her aunt Freya ages to discover she wasn’t heterosexual. Hope smiled, recalling the gorgeous white wedding her aunt Freya had with Keelin.

“I’ll hold you when things go wrong,” Hope hummed, “I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn.”

Hope smiled, shaking her head at how Josie totally managed to get that cheesy song stuck in her head. It was such a romantic cliché, a silly love-song, although Hope wouldn’t mind someone being with her at night and still being there in the morning.

The pencil moved in Hope’s hand with ease. She whispered in between continuing to sketch to make it change color because drawing in plain shades of grey would never do Josie’s eyes justice, and that would be a pity.

Hope meant to approach Josie when she was done; however, when Hope glanced up from her paper one last time to compare the result to reality, Josie was gone.

Well, it was to say, Josie no longer sat on that rock by the lake.

“Y-you…,” Josie stammered, mouth agape as she joined Hope at the picnic table, “You drew me?”

Hope tilted her head to the side. Her pencil dropped from her hand, rolling across the table as her gaze met Josie’s. “This?” Hope chuckled, blushing while she tried to close her sketchbook, but despite being a tribrid, Josie was faster.

“It’s just a quick sketch,” Hope said, shrugging a shoulder.

Josie held the drawing in her hands, eyes shining with unshed tears while she studied every inch.

“I haven’t drawn anything in some time,” Hope shared. “It’s probably not that good. I’m no Picasso.”

“Not that good?” Josie guffawed. “This is stunning,” she said, looking up from the sketch. “Stunning,” she whispered.

Josie fell silent, resorting to staring at Hope as if she wasn’t going to break their eye-contact until Hope did.

Hope’s eyes dipped down to the curve of Josie’s lips. Hope had a funny feeling in her stomach, which got stronger as seconds between them passed, slipping into minutes. She had to talk to her aunt Freya, urgently.

Josie cleared her throat. “Do you mind if I keep this?”

Hope let out a soft sigh, feeling at ease. “If you promise not to tell anyone I drew you like one of my French girls,” she answered with a wink and a smile.

Josie smiled back, more radiant than the sun. “So you’re saying I’m not the only one catching your eye?” she teased with a fake gasp, placing a hand on her chest. “Your sketchbook will be full fast then.”

“It will be if you keep smiling like that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This keeps getting gayer.


	9. Chapter 9

“Jo…Josie…Josette!”

Josie blinked rapidly. “Hmm, what?” she asked, shaking her head, focusing her eyes on her sister.

“What’s going on with you lately?” Lizzie questioned with a deep sigh. “I called you, like, ten times.”

“I’m sorry, Liz,” Josie grimaced. “I didn’t sleep that much,” she began to explain, and while it wasn’t a lie, she was mostly distracted by her thoughts rather than tired. Then, she figured it was pointless to provide an answer when her sister wasn’t going to listen anyway.

Josie loved Lizzie, to pieces, but her sister only heard what she wanted to hear. Not that Lizzie didn’t care whatsoever, of course, Lizzie was concerned. After all, they were twins. It was built into their DNA to give a damn. Josie shook the feeling how Lizzie only noticed her when she needed something. No, that would be giving in to some of the nonsense Penelope used to spew about Lizzie.

“You went to bed early instead of spending time with me and now you’re telling me you barely slept?”

Josie winced, right; she did go to her cabin two hours before curfew. It had escaped her mind for a moment how she did that so she could listen to some music with Hope and talk about hobbies they had.

Josie sighed silently, defeated. “I said I’m sorry, Liz,” she repeated, and honestly, what more was she expected to do? “We can hang out together tonight?” she offered, nudging her sister’s side, smiling while she waited for Lizzie to smile back.

“I guess,” Lizzie muttered. She rolled her eyes before she finally gave Josie a tight-lipped smile.

Josie struggled to stay focused when Hope swam into view. It was a welcome distraction, though it was hard for Josie not to stare.

“Attention, cadets!” Caroline shouted. She waved her arms above her head until everyone looked at her. “Be very careful with these, and do not, by any means, attack others.”

Josie frowned. She didn’t have the slightest idea what her mother was talking about. Careful with what?

Bows, Josie learned, as her mother handed her one with a smile, along with a set of arrows. While she lined up her first shot, Josie sighed quietly, wishing she could enchant one and launch it at Hope, kind of like cupid.

Unfortunately, Josie highly doubted Hope would appreciate getting shot at with an arrow; immortal or not. The latter filled Josie with a second of genuine sadness, thinking how one day, Hope would lose even more people.

Speaking (thinking) of her crush, Josie chuckled inwardly at Hope grunting at her failed attempts to line up her arrow.

Josie shook her head bemused, approaching Hope. “You need to lift your elbow a little higher,” Josie spoke softly, placing her hand on Hope’s elbow to do just that, “like this.”

“Now, take a deep breath in,” Josie instructed, standing next to Hope, “let your hand brush your cheek, like a feather and gently release the bowstring.”

Hope inhaled audibly, following Josie’s instructions.

The arrow hit the target, roughly five inches away from its center.

“Not bad,” Josie complimented.

Hope raised a brow, turning clockwise, facing Josie. “You think you can do better?” Hope challenged, glancing down at Josie’s bow.

Of course, Josie could, she had done this before. “I, uh…,” she whispered, looking down for a moment, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I can try.”

Hope watched as Josie lined up her arrow, which did not help in the least. She wanted to make a good impression on Hope, but as a result, Josie wasn’t sure if her hands were steady enough to land her shot near the target.

“I’ll tell you what,” Hope said before Josie could launch her attempt, “if you strike the target right in the middle, I’ll suffer through a movie marathon with you.”

Josie eased up her bow. “Sounds to me like I’m not the only one who spotted some eye candy,” she teased, smiling. Her eyes briefly fluttered around, exhaling in relief as she saw her sister chatting it up with Rafael and M.G, too occupied to even notice her. “Which team are you on?” Josie questioned. “Team Edward or Team Jacob?”

Hope playfully clapped Josie on the arm. “Neither, yuck,” Hope answered, chuckling. “They’re not my type. But are you going to shoot your shot or are you going to keep finding excuses not to?”

Josie feigned a gasp, filled with a newfound determination to nail this challenge. She hesitated, however, thinking over the bet. “If I can hit the target in the middle twice, will you draw me again?”

Hope crossed her arms over her chest. “You better be good, at least that way I’ll get something out of this, too,” she mused, and the thought Hope wanted to draw Josie made Josie nervous all over again.

Josie closed her eyes as she inhaled, lifting her bow. Her hand brushed her cheek, heart throbbing. A beat passed, Josie exhaled and opened her eyes while she let go. The arrow she shot moved swiftly through the air, hitting the red dot in the middle of the target.

One down, one more to go. Josie shared a smile with Hope, and she had a good feeling about this.

 

 

* * *

 

 

With Josie’s permission and with Josie heading out to spend time with her sister, Hope opened up Josie’s laptop to Skype her aunt. Josie hadn’t asked any questions or made comments, all she had done was say yes when Hope requested to borrow her laptop.

Hope could have gone with a spell instead to get in touch with her aunt, though using Skype was easier and required less energy. And in case Josie unexpectedly came back before Hope was done calling, she could shut the laptop or change the topic, if need be.

Hope selected her aunt’s contact and waited as it rang.

“Hey, Hope,” Freya said when the video call connected. “How’s camp?”

Hope plastered on a smile. “It’s okay. The activities are pretty much what you’d expect of a camp. How’s everyone?”

“Your uncle left on a trip to Paris with Davina. They were both excited to do some sightseeing, even though your uncle has seen Paris countless times,” Freya answered with a smile and a light chuckle.

“How about aunt Rebekah?”

“Traveling as we speak. It seems everyone has planned trips. Keelin and I, on the other hand, chose to stay home and relax for a while. But enough about that, enough about us, what’s on your mind?”

Hope frowned. “What makes you think something is on my mind?”

“You have that same look on your face your father always had when he needed to get something out. I know you, Hope. I can tell when something is going on.”

“Aunt Freya, I…I didn’t just call to hear how everyone’s doing,” Hope confessed, chewing the inside of her cheek. “I need advice.”

“I’m here, Hope. I’m always here to listen.”

Hope smiled briefly because that was true, she knew she could count on what little family she had left. With them, she would never be alone in the world, despite having spells of loneliness sometimes. “I don’t know how to explain this,” she said while she wrung her hands.

“Take your time.”

Hope wanted advice, she knew that much, but putting her thoughts into words was a struggle. “Josie and I became friends,” she shared, which wasn’t that hard to reveal. “Good friends,” she clarified. “We share a cabin and we’ve been spending more time together. We didn’t have much of a say in the former, but it turns out it’s not that bad, not bad at all.”

“During the full moon,” Hope continued, faltering for a second, hesitating. Meanwhile, her aunt gave her an encouraging nod and a kind, patient smile. “She kept me company,” Hope recalled with the hint of a smile. “It made me feel, I don’t know, cared for.”

“Josie Saltzman,” Freya stated. “Alaric’s daughter, the girl you told me about when you poked yourself in the foot. You two spent the afternoon together that day. You told me it was the most fun you’ve had since you enrolled in the Salvatore boarding school.”

Hope smiled, mildly embarrassed. “You make it sound as if I talk about her all the time, which I don’t.”

“I never said you did, Hope. Not that there is anything wrong with mentioning someone frequently. Are you all right?”

“Josie kissed me,” Hope blurted out, wanting to get it over with. “We were talking and it happened, out of the blue. I don’t think she meant anything by it, but now I… I’m confused.”

Hope sighed audibly, dropping her hands in her lap. “How can you be sure you like someone as more than a friend?” she questioned, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. “H-how can I… be sure?”

“Love isn’t based on logic, Hope. It’s a feeling. When you follow your heart, if it’s meant to be, your head and everything else follows. It’s not some list with boxes you have to check of how much you have in common or how attractive you think someone looks. Trust your gut.”

“I think I might be…I don’t know, I could be wrong,” Hope replied while she tried to put a halt to her train of thoughts so she could make sense of it all. “I might be…,” she backtracked, nodding her head, more to herself than to her aunt, “bisexual or maybe I’m pansexual, like Josie.”

Hope envied those who had it all figured out while her mind twisted in knots, with one what if after another. Labels didn’t matter, but answers did, and Hope hated not knowing, hated doubting. She wanted to know for herself, to find inner peace.

“Lizzie hates me,” Hope scoffed before her aunt had the chance to say anything. “And who knows how Alaric and Caroline would react if I’d dare to ask Josie out,” she wondered aloud. “Maybe Josie isn’t even interested in me like that. She compliments me sometimes, but Josie is a nice person, and I don’t want to mix up kindness with flirtation. What if I make a move, any move and Josie freezes me out?”

Hope felt tears of helplessness well up in her eyes. She didn’t want to lose the friendship she had with Josie, not when Josie calmed Hope’s inner storm. Josie made Hope feel less alienated for being the only one of her kind by treating her like a true friend.

“She’s been hurt in the past, Aunt Freya,” Hope whispered with tear-stricken cheeks. “I could never do anything to harm her, to harm our friendship. I’m lost, Aunt Freya.”

“I like her,” Hope admitted. “But I don’t know if she likes me back.”

“Are you sure it meant nothing when she kissed you?”

“Josie would have said something.”

“People speak with more than words, Hope.”

Hope’s mind flooded with memories of Josie; each smile Josie aimed at Hope, everything Josie did and how she acted around Hope. It made Hope rethink everything she thought she knew, but it also made her confusion grow. She wasn’t sure and making the wrong moves could lead to checkmate.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hope?” Josie whispered. “Ha-have you been crying?” she asked carefully, observing the redness around Hope’s eyes.

Hope rubbed her eyes. “No,” she answered, turning her head to the side. “Yes,” she sighed out when Josie placed a hand on her cheek.

Josie nestled herself on Hope’s bed. “Do you want to talk about it?” Josie offered, wondering if she should hug Hope to comfort her like she wanted to, or if it was better to give Hope space.

“I wish I could, Jo,” Hope replied with a stricken look on her face. “But I can’t, I really can’t.”

“Okay, we don’t have to talk. We could lie here, together, and cuddle if you promise not to kick me out.”

That managed to pull a small smile out of Hope, which was better than nothing. “I make no promises.”

Josie wound her arms around Hope. “I’ll take that risk,” Josie decided, combing her fingers through Hope’s hair.

Hope hummed, closing her eyes. “Hey, Jo?”

“Yes, Hope?”

“Why do you smell like you rolled around in apples?”

Josie kissed the back of Hope’s head because what Hope couldn’t see couldn’t be questioned. “Lizzie and I used facial masks,” Josie answered with a smile.

“You’d think she has plenty of masks already.”

“Hope….”

“Kidding.”

Josie dropped it, finding this moment too meaningful to be ruined by one comment from a typical pokester; one Josie had a major crush on.

“Hey, Jo?”

Josie chewed her lip, unsure if it was appropriate to mention Hope’s hair smelled nice, kind of like strawberries.

“Yes, Hope?”

“Cuddling with you feels… pleasant.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Hope whispered a spell to give the trinket she held in her hands more power. A week passed since her call with her aunt took place. After that night, she felt she got closer to Josie, little by little, but Hope still wasn’t sure if her feelings that surpassed friendship were returned.

Tonight was special. It wasn’t just any night. Josie and Lizzie turned sixteen today, and because of that, Caroline and Alaric authorized a party. Josie wasn’t in her cabin right now, considering she left to go help Lizzie get ready.

It was always Lizzie this and Lizzie that, and it wasn’t fair how Josie kept ciphering herself away for that ice princess. Hope saw Josie’s longing looks and the shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes when Caroline gave her a dress earlier tonight. Hope knew Josie couldn’t wait to put it on, but she did anyway, with a quick excuse how helping Lizzie wouldn’t take long.

Hope sighed deeply. The party was bound to start in half an hour. She surprised herself by wearing a dress, which she had to conjure through magic because she hadn’t packed any. Hope didn’t feel like going if she was honest, but Josie was her friend, and Hope wanted Josie to know she mattered.

“How many different lipsticks does someone need to try on?” Josie muttered to herself as she entered their cabin, sighing, rummaging through her things.

Hope’s eyes widened when Josie lifted her shirt over her head, and okay, that was a good time to turn around, so Hope did.

“I knew she’d go with the first one,” Josie continued. There was some rustling of clothing. “She always does.”

“Everything okay, Jo?”

“Um…yes, but could you…give me a hand? I can’t reach my zipper.”

Hope slowly turned around, and she found herself out of breath at the sight of Josie in a white dress.

“My mom must think I’m getting married or something,” Josie chuckled. “Do I… Does this look okay?” she asked, chewing her lip, glancing down at her dress. “Is it not too much?”

“Jo…,” Hope breathed out, eyes roaming around. “It’s good this isn’t your wedding day because I’d like to meet the lucky person, and make sure they’re good enough for you,” she said, though she digressed. “You look, I don’t know, like… girl-princess material.”

Hope bit her tongue. That decidedly wasn’t her smoothest moment, but it wasn’t her fault she was into Josie. Hope couldn’t help Josie was so darn lovable to the point where Hope embarrassed herself.

Josie did that pretty thing she always did; namely, blushing. “Hope?”

Hope blinked her eyes and stared into Josie’s with a rushed, “yes?”

“My zipper…,” Josie began, trying to reach her back, “I can’t.”

“Oh, right, yes,” Hope remembered, shooting forward to zip up Josie’s dress.

With doing so, Hope couldn’t resist the small kiss she planted on Josie’s shoulder. “I got you something,” Hope revealed, noticing Josie caught her.

“I didn’t get time to wrap it,” Hope explained, showing the talisman. “Can I…?” she inquired, gesturing at Josie’s neck.

“You…you got me a present?”

“You’re my best friend, why wouldn’t I?”

“Best friend,” Josie repeated in a whisper. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She gave a nod, touching the talisman as Hope placed it around her neck. “Thank you, Hope. It’s…I like it.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Jo-Jo, you look, dare I say, ravishing. It would be a pity if something were to happen to that dress of yours. You know how easily fabric rips.”

Josie sighed loudly. The wink Penelope gave her made Josie’s skin crawl. “What do you want, Penelope?” she bit out with crossed arms.

Penelope sauntered toward Josie like a snake slithering through the grass. “To wish you a happy birthday, of course,” she mused, leaning forward, kissing Josie on the cheek.

Josie took a step back and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Your sweet sixteen could become a lot sweeter,” Penelope said, sizing Josie up.

Josie scoffed at Penelope’s actual audacity to make a pass on her. “After the excuses and the juice you dumped on me, I want nothing to do with you. Nothing,” Josie spoke through gritted teeth.

“The latter never bothered you before.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. You… you cheated on me, Penelope. I hate you with every cell in my body. Never, ever do as much as kiss me on the cheek.”

“Meow, someone is catty tonight,” Penelope replied with a cheeky smirk. “I know I made a mistake, but I’m not the one to blame.”

Josie guffawed at that. “Are you seriously insinuating it’s my fault I found you naked with someone else?”

“No, dummy. It’s not your fault either. It’s Lizzie’s. She sucks the energy out of you. Everything has to be about her, always. I was tired of being second best to little miss spoiled. The moment she so much as had a paper cut or found a new guy to drool over, she demanded you at her side. She’s ruining your life. In that little bubble of hers, there’s no space for you.”

Josie tensed up. She didn’t want another fight, another pointless argument filled with excuses. The past couldn’t be erased, once a bell was rung, there was no undoing it. “Leave me alone,” she requested, voice laced with defeat and exhaustion rather than determination and bitter anger.

“Ew, is she hitting on you?” Lizzie interrupted, scrunching up her nose while she looked at Penelope as if she was ready to claw her eyes out. “Tell me you’re not getting back together,” Lizzie uttered, placing a hand on Josie’s shoulder.

Josie released a breath she had been holding. “I’m going to get some air,” she murmured, distancing herself.

“Jo, wait, you can’t go!” Lizzie called out. “I need you to keep M.G busy so I can spend some time with Rafael.”

Josie ignored whatever snide remark Penelope threw at her before she wandered off into the woods. Josie was no longer in the mood to party, and in hindsight, it was a waste of time anyway. It didn’t matter what kind of dress she had on; she might as well be invisible.

“Not having a good time?”

Josie spun around on the heel of her foot, ready to snap at whoever thought following her was a good idea. She changed her mind when she saw it was Hope. “Lizzie wanted…,” Josie began, at which Hope raised a brow. “No,” Josie answered, “I’d rather sit by the lake with a book and a bit of light.”

“How about…,” Hope suggested, stepping closer, “we listen to some music together in our cabin and talk? I’ll let you choose the songs, even the cheesy ones.”

Josie smiled because how could she pass up that kind of opportunity? If she thought about it, she didn’t feel like being alone right now. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Hmm, how about we start with your favorite moment at this camp so far?”

“My favorite moment?” Josie wondered aloud. “I can do that. Is it…is it okay if we cuddle?”

“Like you even need to ask at this point,” Hope answered with a slight shake of her head and a sweet smile. “Cuddling feels-”

“Pleasant, mhmm, so you’ve said,” Josie chuckled, recalling that night a week ago very well.

“Are you mocking me, Jo? You know, I think my legs have random spasms, so I might kick you out of bed this time.”

“Funny you mention that, I think the same thing is happening to my arms,” Josie responded, smiling along with Hope while she hugged her arms around her. “See? Spasms,” Josie claimed, and her mood improved significantly.

“Uh-oh… my arms…,” Hope gasped, and without the slightest warning, she scooped Josie up in her arms. “Now it’s starting to look more like a honeymoon,” Hope teased, carrying Josie over the threshold of their cabin.

Josie wanted to say something back, anything, really, but she was dying due to an overdose of butterflies in her stomach while her cheeks were so red they might combust. She shushed the voice in the back of her head, saying this could become a reality someday.

Within minutes, they changed into something more comfortable with their backs turned toward each other, and climbed into Josie’s bed. She was glad to lie down, mind spinning from how Hope carried her.

Goosebumps erupted all over Josie’s arms from the way Hope stroked her hair. They faced one another, exchanging a mutual smile that made Josie’s heart flutter. If she could bottle feelings, the one she felt around Hope was worth a fortune. Josie never expected to feel so strongly about Hope.

Josie hadn’t picked a song yet, but she didn’t mind the silence. She hadn’t shared her favorite moment yet either, though she had a feeling that one was yet to come, and this night might be a winner.

“I could create a dozen sketches of your eyes alone,” Hope whispered, sighing softly. “They say the eyes are the mirror of the soul. No wonder yours are beautiful.”

Josie blushed at the compliment. While it wasn’t the first time, she still wasn’t used to receiving those. “It sounds like you’re trying to woo me,” she responded with a nervous chuckle. Perhaps she shouldn’t have shared her thoughts aloud, not if Hope would pull up walls again, but a large part of Josie wanted to know.

Hope chuckled, too. But then, her laughter ceased and her expression changed. “Would that be the worst thing in the world?” she questioned, curling her fingers around Josie’s arm, caressing the inside of Josie’s wrist.

More like the best thing in the world, but the thought of Hope flirting with her made Josie’s blush ten times worse. It felt surreal, getting a taste of the possibility Hope crushed on her. Josie didn’t know how to react. In her mind, she long convinced herself she never stood a chance to pique Hope’s interest beyond friendship.

“Your heart is racing,” Hope whispered, shifting closer toward Josie. “I can hear it and feel it,” Hope explained, inching her hand higher, lacing her fingers one by one with Josie’s, pressing their palms together.

Josie released a fake groan. “That’s not fair,” she said, siphoning some energy from Hope now that she had the chance.

Hope looked at their glowing hands. “All is fair in…,” she smiled, faltering. Her pupils dilated briefly.

“Love and war,” Josie breathed out, familiar with those words. “But we’re not at war, are we?” she pointed out, heart thumping as she risked Hope crawling back into her shell.

A beat passed.

“No,” Hope confirmed.

Josie stopped siphoning. With a few words, she made lit candles appear. “I figured our cabin could use some extra warmth,” she reasoned, admiring the view.

“It got plenty of that the moment you walked in.”

Josie’s heart forgot how to function. “Not as much as when you got into my bed,” she replied, less smooth than it sounded in her head. “Wait,” she grimaced. “That came out wrong.”

“I knew you thought I was hot, but I didn’t know it was quite that intense,” Hope teased, winking.

If Hope wouldn’t shut her mouth soon, Josie was going to do it for her. All of Hope’s teasing made Josie crush harder, and it slowly drove her crazy.

Out of all the little things from the spark in Hope’s eyes, the warmth of her skin, and the sweet barely-there dimples in her cheeks when she smiled; it was Hope’s confident sideways smirk that did Josie in, crumbling her resolve to the point where she had to kiss Hope, no matter the outcome.

Josie cupped Hope’s jaw, thumb caressing Hope’s cheek while Josie’s eyes traveled between Hope’s soft, pink lips and those now yellow-gold glowing eyes.

Hope ran the pad of her thumb across Josie’s lips, sending a shiver down Josie’s spine that made her arch her back.

The glow in Hope’s eyes didn’t dim, but she didn’t shift either. Not in the way Josie thought she might. Instead, Hope surged forward at the same time Josie did, meeting her in the middle. Their lips locked, hungry and desperate yet soft and passionate with just the right amount of pressure.

Josie’s senses felt heightened from the power she siphoned from Hope, which made her hyperaware of how warm and supple Hope’s lips were. One kiss led to two, and two to many more as they pulled each other closer, leaving little time in between to breathe.

Josie couldn’t have wished for a better birthday than being in the arms of the girl who was slowly but surely stealing her heart.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or does this keep getting gayer? Excuse me while I go scream for a while. My gaybies are soft. 
> 
> Also, thoughts on Penelope and how I wrote her?


	11. Chapter 11

At the breakfast table, Hope struggled to stay focused on her food. Her eyes kept flitting toward Josie, capturing that smile that made Hope’s heart swoon. Josie sat across from Hope, next to Caroline, and the pair chuckled as they talked.

Hope was glad Josie got to have that moment with her mother. Nothing could ruin Hope’s day as long as Josie was happy. Hope loved catching those rare moments, so much so she had made roughly six or seven sketches of Josie smiling.

“Where did you get that necklace?” Lizzie questioned Josie.

Hope had to roll her eyes, considering she gave that talisman to Josie two days ago. It went to show just how little Lizzie noticed her sister. Hope had no idea how she was ever going to get along with Lizzie when she couldn’t stand her, which Hope knew to be mutual.

Unfortunately, Hope also knew Josie and Lizzie were pretty much a package deal. Everyone had baggage, and in Josie’s case, that happened to be a whole person.

“Hope gave it to me for my birthday,” Josie answered with a small smile, touching the talisman around her neck.

“It looks old,” Lizzie commented, averting her eyes a second later. When her eyes landed on Rafael, she smiled and opened a conversation with him.

Meanwhile, Josie’s smile had vanished. She stared down at the table, nodding as Caroline whispered in her ear not to take Lizzie’s comment to heart and squeezed her shoulder. But that didn’t put Josie’s smile back on her face.

Hope bent her fork in half, and it took more than one deep breath not to stab Lizzie with it. Hope finished half of her food as fast as she could, leaving the table in a rush with her tray in her hands. She was busy discarding her leftovers in the garbage when someone approached her.

“Lizzie ticks you off too, hm?” Penelope inquired with a hushed tone. “Jo-Jo seems to like that talisman. Which spell did you enchant it with?”

Hope ditched her tray. “Who says magic is involved?”

“It’s sweet you gave her a gift. Josie deserves good people like you in her life,” Penelope said, and then added after a pause, “I loved her.”

“You hurt her,” Hope pointed out.

“I know I did and it’s the biggest mistake I’ve ever made,” Penelope sighed.

Hope couldn’t listen to this nonsense. She grabbed Penelope by the arm and casually dragged her out into the woods to avoid causing a scene in front of the other students; in particular Josie. Maybe Hope’s grip was harder than it needed to be, but she couldn’t care less.

“If you regret what you did, why do you keep causing her pain?” Hope demanded, letting go when she figured they had wandered off far enough. “You have to stop taunting her and flirting with her as if it’s nothing but a game to you, as if her feelings are a game. If there’s even a sliver in that stone, icy, frozen, black heart of yours that cares about Josie, you’ll leave her be.”

Penelope’s throat bobbed, just a quick moment, a leak in her usual cold and serious exterior. “My love for her was real,” she whispered, inhaling deeply, wiping away a single tear. “The lack of affection she gave me broke me. In the end, Josie will shut out everyone to give her all to Lizzie. You’ll see.”

Hope did fear Josie might freeze her out at any given time, but that had little to do with Lizzie. Okay, Hope did worry Lizzie would complicate things, but at least Hope would never even dream of cheating on Josie. Official or not, Hope didn’t want to hurt Josie in any way, not if she could prevent it.

“Leave Josie be,” Hope warned one last time. “Mark my words, Penelope. Harm someone I care about and I’ll show you whose daughter I am. Are we clear?”

“Easy there, Mikaelson,” Penelope replied, holding up her hands. “I heard you loud and clear.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Josie heard music play as she stood outside of her cabin, ready to enter to call it a night. It sounded oddly familiar and – wait a minute, that was a song from her playlist. It had to be, she listened to it last night with Hope before they went to sleep.

So much for Hope claiming Josie’s music was cheesy. She smiled, but despite having heard the song before setting foot inside, nothing could have prepared Josie for what happened next, for what she walked into.

There – in their cabin, in the middle, in the small space that separated their beds and secured a closet against the wall – Hope danced.

And that wasn’t the only thing Josie picked up on within a single glance.

Hope’s hair was tousled; more so as she ran her hand through it, and she was clad in green undies and a black blouse that was partially unbuttoned, causing it to fall halfway down her shoulders. In short; Hope was gorgeous.

The way Hope moved her hips and lowered her hands down her body was a direct attack on Josie’s poor heart. Deep down she knew she couldn’t help but surrender to falling in love with Hope, wishing those strong arms would catch her, always.

Hope’s smile was as genuine as it was radiant when she laid eyes on Josie. Hope spun a circle, humming along with the music, making Josie wonder how often she had listened to it already.

Josie snuck up on Hope, not that it counted when Hope knew about her presence, but that didn’t stop Josie from circling her arms around Hope’s waist from behind.

“I never expected you to move so freely,” Josie said, kissing Hope’s cheek, “your hands clearly aren’t the only talented part of your body.”

Josie groaned, hearing for herself how that sounded. For some reason this kept happening, always with the girl she wanted to impress.

Hope turned around, chuckling as she faced a blushing Josie, eyes twinkling in delight.

“Be-because you draw,” Josie stammered, cheeks growing redder. “That’s why I think you have talented fingers – hands! Talented hands.”

Hope leaned on the tip of her toes. She wound her arms around Josie’s neck and pulled her down for a kiss. “You’re cute,” Hope whispered, pecking Josie’s lips once more.

Hope took a step back far too soon for Josie’s liking. “Dance with me?” Hope requested, extending her right hand.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” Josie responded, scratching the back of her neck, wishing she could go back to watching Hope dance, to steal glimpses of the girl who made Josie’s heart race, slow down, and stop all at once. “I’d probably step on your toes.”

“You will if you don’t dance with me, Jo,” Hope insisted, beckoning Josie closer, “show me your moves.”

“Okay fine, I’ll dance with you,” Josie sighed silently, as if she ever stood a chance denying her crush. “But could you please put on some pants first?”

Hope smirked, catching Josie’s eyes traveling down her legs. “Do my legs distract you that much?” Hope questioned.

“Yes, now quit teasing me or I’ll… I’ll even the score.”

Hope bit her lower lip. “Rain check?”

Josie’s cheeks turned crimson so much it spread down to her neck. She uttered a “no promises” with her voice coming out rather raspy and low.

Much to Josie’s disappointment, Hope did put some pants on. Josie didn’t get time to reconsider her request, however. Before she had a chance to comment, she was in Hope’s arms.

“Your heart…,” Hope began.

Josie closed her eyes for a second. It was so unfair how Hope heard everything, and Josie thought of telling her not to eavesdrop because it gave Hope an advantage Josie didn’t have.

“It’s beating almost as fast as mine,” Hope finished, causing Josie to blink her eyes and stare at her. “Here,” Hope whispered, placing Josie’s hand on her chest, “feel for yourself.”

Josie’s heart rate spiked at where her hand currently was. She had no doubt Hope heard, but it seemed the cheeky tease let Josie off the hook. “Are you trying to kill me tonight?” she questioned because seriously, first the bare legs thing and now this.

Hope’s laugh was full and melodious. “You have no idea what you do to me,” she mused softly, pulling Josie closer.

Josie glanced at Hope’s lips throughout the song and the next, and the one after that. Josie wasn’t sure if it was okay to tip her head down and capture her crush’s mouth with hers, even though Hope kissed her earlier. They hadn’t said anything about being girlfriends or dating, so Josie had no idea what Hope was aside from her friend and crush, or what she meant to Hope exactly.

As they swayed to _‘Love me tender’_ – a slightly older song Josie added to her playlist for Hope, though it was cheesy – Josie stole a quick kiss. When Hope kissed back, pressing their lips together longer than Josie had, Josie gained enough courage to kiss Hope like she meant it, and she did.

Hope opened up under Josie, allowing their kiss to deepen.

Josie shuddered as her tongue explored Hope’s mouth. Hope tasted like the chocolate pudding they had for dessert today. Their kiss sent sparks of electricity coursing through Josie’s veins. She wanted to kiss Hope until her lungs begged her to come up for air.

Hope’s lips moved down to Josie’s neck. The touch made Josie want more, so she grasped Hope’s chin and tilted her head up.

“You call me cute a lot,” Josie whispered, drowning in Hope’s eyes, “but what’s adorable is how short you are.”

Hope chuckled. “Shut up and kiss me, Jo.”

“Make me,” Josie replied, smiling, backing away a step.

Hope’s eyebrows rose. “Gladly,” was all she said before she placed her hands on Josie’s thighs and hoisted her up.

Hope captured Josie’s lips in a heated kiss while Josie wrapped her legs around Hope’s waist. Josie felt her back press against the door of their cabin. Hope’s kisses grew hungrier, more passionate, robbing Josie of the air in her lungs and her heart.

“Wow,” Josie voiced, breathless.

“Yeah…,” Hope sighed out, gently lowering Josie, “wow.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

One night, after roughly two weeks of sharing kisses in the privacy of their cabin, Josie asked a question Hope knew was inevitable sooner or later, though she thought she had more time. Hope anticipated it would be somewhere around their last few nights at this camp, but she was wrong.  

They were on Josie’s bed with their legs tangled together and their noses almost touching. Hope had outlined Josie’s lips countless times with her eyes by now, the memory of them captured by Hope’s mouth, and her pencil because she simply couldn’t stop drawing Josie. Within Josie, Hope found more than a muse for all of her little artworks.

“Hope,” Josie spoke up, breaking the lingering silence. “What are we?”

Hope swallowed because that was the million dollar question, wasn’t it?

Hope caressed Josie’s cheek with the back of her index finger. “I…I don’t know,” Hope answered, and not for a lack of thinking about it because Josie crossed her mind endlessly every day.

Hope was confident most of the time, but all of this was new and made her insecure. Talking about feelings, while necessary, proved difficult. Every time someone meant a lot to her, something bad happened. She didn’t want to say they were just friends because that made it sound as if it was all casual and meaningless, while that was far from the truth. Josie was more than Hope’s friend, but she didn’t want to push Josie into something she wasn’t ready for.

Hope knew how deeply Josie got hurt in the past. There was no telling if Josie was ready for a relationship, which was a big step for Hope as well. She liked to believe she moved on from Landon, and that Josie got over Penelope, but the feelings between Josie and Hope were still growing.

“I don’t know either,” Josie said, chewing her lip. “We c-could slowly figure it out together? If you want, if that’s okay?”

Hope wished she could take away Josie’s insecurities and reassure her she was in it for the long haul, but Josie made Hope’s knees weak, and it was too soon to speak of love. Hope had a feeling Josie gave her a way out, right there for the taking. It was a kind gesture, coming from the person who was too nice for her own good.

“Slow sounds good,” Hope agreed with a smile, accepting the quick escape, not that she wished to ever run from this, from Josie. And then, to give Josie at least something to hold on to, Hope added, “I really do like you, Jo.”

Josie’s lips stretched out into a smile. “I like you, too,” she responded, leaning in.

Hope felt Josie smile into their kiss, which made Hope’s feelings grow like ivy rising up to cover a wall and reach over it, making everything more colorful. There was no doubt on Hope’s mind her life was brighter with Josie in it, and something about Josie’s presence made Hope feel more alive than she had in a long time.

Hope wanted to be strong for Josie, but in order to do so; Hope had to overcome her own insecurities first.

Josie caught Hope by surprise when she pinned Hope down. Before Hope could react, Josie trapped Hope’s bottom lip between both of hers, pulled it back, slowly released it, and went in for a slow and sensual kiss.

Hope’s hands found Josie’s waist, moaning as Josie ground her hips. It was unexpected, the brazenness of it all tempted Hope’s inner wolf, but aside from her eyes changing color, she held back.

When Josie detached her mouth from Hope’s, she smiled down at her. “I couldn’t resist,” Josie confessed with blushing cheeks.

Hope lifted a hand. “Those little bursts of confidence you have are attractive,” she admitted aloud, running her hand through Josie’s hair.

“Then you’ll find me rather attractive right now,” Josie replied, which was the kind of reaction Hope had hoped for.

Though what happened next was even better than the possibilities which crossed Hope’s mind.

Josie reached for the hem of her shirt. In one not so smooth move – considering she got her hair stuck and needed a hand from Hope – Josie ditched her shirt onto the floor, leaving herself in red shorts and a black bra decorated with red hearts.

Josie gathered her hair in a ponytail and swept it over her right shoulder, leaning down to kiss Hope.

“Definitely,” Hope whispered, flipping Josie onto her back with one calculated move. “But you being attractive is not the only thought crossing my mind. You’re still cute, so cute I have to kiss every inch of your face,” Hope declared, smiling down at Josie.

“How can you ever object to the cheesy music I listen to when you’re such a sap? You may appear tough, Hope Mikaelson, but the truth is you’re a softie.”

“Only for you, Jo,” Hope sighed softly. “It’s easier to let my guard down when I’m with you. Don’t tell anyone though, wouldn’t want to wreck my reputation as a badass.”

“Badass,” Josie giggled quietly. “More like nice ass,” she mumbled, blushing.

“It’s okay for you to check me out,” Hope assured Josie with a wink, and then, “I do the same thing with you all the time when you’re not looking.”

“Only when I’m not looking?” Josie inquired with a smile.

Hope smiled back and she felt an invisible pull drawing her closer toward Josie. Hope gave in to it, kissing Josie’s cheeks, her forehead, her nose, and finally her lips. All the while Josie’s smile brightened.

Hope slowly trailed her index finger down Josie’s cheek, daring to steal a glimpse of Josie’s chest, which was enough to make both of their cheeks darken. “I can take off my shirt as well,” Hope offered, lowering her finger down to Josie’s collarbone, lingering there.

“Not that I mind you doing that, but I feel like it’s crucial to ask if you know cpr because I’m pretty sure I’m going to forget how to breathe.”

Hope hooked her fingers under the straps of Josie’s bra and chuckled. “You’re too darn cute,” Hope said, pulling Josie up so she could kiss her.

Josie’s hands disappeared under Hope’s shirt, wandering up Hope’s back with a slight scrape of her nails. Meanwhile, Hope held Josie close, intending to spend the whole night doing just that.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Josie’s mind couldn’t stop spinning. Even now, as a new day had risen, along with yet another activity crafted by her parents, all she thought of was last night. She wasn’t sure what she expected Hope to say when she asked Hope what they were. Deep down, Josie wanted to know if they were at least going steady, headed somewhere together.

When Hope said she didn’t know, Josie agreed. Hope felt like more than a friend to Josie, and as for friends with benefits, well, that was tacky, and she didn’t like that sort of stuff. Josie was either all in or all out, there was no half-assing when it came to matters of the heart. Penelope used to treat their relationship as if Josie was nothing more but a friend with perks, and it hurt. She never wanted to be in a situation like that again.

It was a relief Hope agreed to take it slow. Josie knew it wasn’t going to be easy. At this point, she wasn’t ready to tell Lizzie, and Josie didn’t want to without Hope’s consent anyway. Josie wasn’t sure how her parents would react once they knew. Her dad tried to be a father figure for Hope, and Josie hoped he wouldn’t object to the chance of Josie dating Hope.

“M.G,” Caroline announced. “You’re our last team captain and because I called your name last, you get to pick first.”

Josie snapped out of her thoughts. Right, captains, today’s activity was all about students choosing teams. It was better than being shoved in a group based upon cabins, though on the downside, Josie risked winding up in a different one from Hope.

M.G rubbed his hands together, smiling broadly. Non-surprisingly, he picked Lizzie first and Josie second.

Josie wasn’t sure what to say when Lizzie groaned about how Rafael was in another team. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but Josie was distracted by Hope when M.G chose her next. Josie felt like letting out a squeal while jumping into M.G’s arms, which she didn’t do.

Josie’s good mood chipped somewhat as M.G called out his last choice.

“Penelope,” M.G said, grinning while he was at it, too.

“M.G!” Lizzie shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. “Why’d you pick her?” she questioned, punching M.G’s upper arm.

“What?” M.G replied, rubbing his arm. “She’s my friend.”

Josie sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn’t want Penelope in their team either, but at least M.G had the good sense to choose Hope, which mended his mistake. Well, as far as Josie was concerned. In Lizzie’s case, M.G likely ruined whatever small shot he had of wooing Lizzie.

Treasure hunting, with a map, certainly wasn’t the kind of activity Josie looked forward to. It paled significantly compared to the previous ones, in particular, that time they went swimming. But when Hope took charge, passing on instructions whether it pleased the others or not, made Josie change her mind.

“Be still my heart,” Josie whispered to herself, resting her palm against her chest.

At the first checkpoint on their map, their team had to solve a riddle.

“Some like me hot, some like me cold,” M.G read. “Some like me mild, some like me bold.”

“It’s obviously coffee,” Lizzie guessed.

“Who wrote these riddles, an eight-year-old?” Penelope scoffed.

“Our mom did,” Josie revealed, sharing a look with her sister.

Josie had no doubt Lizzie hated the embarrassment because she knew her better than anyone else in the world, but personally, Josie disliked the blatant disrespect. Her mother worked hard to make the most out of this camp on such a short notice, and everyone was quick to complain at every turn.

“Oh…,” Penelope uttered. “Props to her for trying,” she replied, which was a whole different tune than the one not even a minute ago.

Josie couldn’t wrap her head around the sudden switch in Penelope’s behavior. If it was some sort of trick or new technique to get Josie to fall for her charms again, it wasn’t working. Josie had moved on from Penelope’s games.

With the riddle solved, their group received a clue which allowed them to continue their hunt.

Josie knew Hope liked it when she was confident, so when the others were far enough ahead of them, Josie decided she could steal a quick moment with the girl she hoped to be able to call her girlfriend someday. She took Hope by the arm and pressed her against the nearest tree. Without so much as a second of hesitation, Josie claimed Hope’s lips with hers.

Josie felt Hope kiss back at the same time a slow clap interrupted their moment, causing both of them to falter.

Josie’s pulse quickened. Her hands shook as she faced the intruder.

It wasn’t M.G and it wasn’t Lizzie either.

“Penny,” Josie whispered, the nickname escaped her along with a gasp.

Hope appeared frozen, didn’t move at all as Josie hurriedly put some distance between them, even though there was no doubt they got caught making out with each other.

“I knew something was going on between the two of you,” Penelope stated. She approached while a smile played at her lips. “You’re different Jo-Jo. You, taking initiative? I’m not quite impressed, but it does intrigue me,” she drawled, walking a slow circle around the pair. “I wonder…,” she hummed. “Does Lizzie know?”

Josie’s breath got stuck in the back of her throat. She knew her sister ought to be nearby, bound to find her any second now, and Josie didn’t know how to handle Penelope revealing something that was meant to be not only private but also a secret.

Most of all, Josie feared how Lizzie would act toward Hope, and which further consequences there could be. Hope and Josie weren’t officially dating yet, but Josie still worried Hope would break up with her if Penelope ran her big mouth to others. Josie didn’t want what she had with Hope to end.

Penelope arched a brow after several seconds of silence. “I’ll take that as a no.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

“No,” Josie voiced with a shaky timbre, barely above a whisper. “Lizzie, she…she doesn’t know,” she revealed, gulping.

“Mhmm, thought so,” Penelope hummed.

Hope narrowed her eyes as the situation at hand slowly dawned on her. The warning she gave Penelope not that long ago gave Penelope an excuse to use this kiss against Josie. Perhaps Hope should have thought twice before she dragged Penelope out into the woods to sort of threaten her, but everything Hope had done was for Josie’s sake, although Josie hadn’t asked for any help.

“It’s fine if Hope is in the closet,” Penelope uttered with a shrug of her shoulder. “But if you’re hiding because of Lizzie, you shouldn’t,” she continued. “Not everything revolves around Lizzie. You’re allowed to have a life where she isn’t the center of everything.”

Hope wasn’t sure where Penelope was going with her little speech, but Hope decided she heard enough. She took a step forward and reached for Josie’s hand. “I’m not in the closet,” Hope stated with a firm tone. “I love Josie and I only want to inform others when she feels comfortable. I’d never use what we have as a reason to spite Lizzie.”

Josie’s lips parted while her pupils dilated. “Y-you love me…?” she asked, searching Hope’s eyes with hers.

Hope knew her timing wasn’t favorable. She would have rather whispered it to Josie at night while they cuddled, in the privacy of their cabin, but Hope didn’t regret saying it now. Her words carried nothing but the truth; she loved Josie. It was oftentimes difficult for Hope to express how she felt, but loving Josie was easy; it might as well have been Hope’s second nature.

“Always so surprised,” Hope mused, smiling at Josie and Josie alone.

Josie’s cheeks reddened, proving yet again to Hope how easy it was to love Josie. Her gaze lingered on Hope’s lips, but when it flickered toward Penelope, Josie pecked Hope on the cheek.

Hope wanted to cradle Josie’s face in her hands and kiss Josie senseless so much it ached, though Hope resisted doing that in front of Penelope. Not out of shame or shyness, no. It was the look on Penelope’s face that made Hope hold back. The familiarity of it reminded Hope of the way she looked at Josie as if she painted the stars in the sky.

Dreamy, yearning for what couldn’t be reached. Hope had felt that same longing before kissing Josie became a daily occurrence. Hope’s eyes, too, used to have that shine of unshed tears threatening to spill. Penelope was Hope’s foe more than anything else, though Hope was no monster. She didn't step on people’s heart to get a kick, didn’t enjoy people suffering at her hands.

“Hope,” Penelope said, clearing her throat. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” she requested, and then to Josie added, “no worries, Jo-Jo, you’ll get your eye candy back soon,” with a wink.

Josie clutched Hope’s arm. “You don’t have to do this,” Josie whispered, holding on tighter. “She’ll try to get under your skin just to get a rise out of you.”

Hope gave Josie a reassuring smile. “I’ll be back soon,” Hope promised, kissing Josie’s forehead with a quick hushed, “you’re cute when you worry about me, but I can handle this.”

Hope squeezed Josie’s hand, gently. Letting go felt like being struck by a gush of cold wind, even though Hope knew she was literally only going to be gone for a minute or five tops. To avoid stalling to the point where the others might come looking, Hope went to stand a bit farther with Penelope.

It was far enough to be certain Josie couldn’t see or hear them, yet close enough for Hope to listen to the sound of Josie’s heartbeat. Each steady thud kept Hope calm, ensuring she wouldn’t lose her temper unless circumstances demanded her to.

Penelope glanced to the left and then to the right.

“You wanted to talk, so talk,” Hope demanded, eager to get back to Josie.

“Never let her go,” Penelope told Hope.

Hope nodded slowly. She wasn’t planning on letting Josie slip between her fingers, no matter the obstacles. Hope needn’t ask, it was as clear as day to her Penelope still loved Josie, despite everything Penelope had done.

“I know she hates me,” Penelope sighed with a sad smile. “And I know you and I aren’t friends either, but I won’t tell a soul. Nobody will hear about this from me. I know you won’t take my word for it and I don’t blame-”

“I know you’ll keep this to yourself,” Hope spoke. “Call it instinct.”

“Jo-Jo looks happy,” Penelope whispered. The corners of her mouth inched up a little. “If you ever break her heart, I’m going to hurt you, Mikaelson. I can’t bear the thought of Josie falling apart all over again. She deserves better.”

“Warning noted,” Hope replied, pleased to know she wasn’t the only one wishing to protect Josie.

“We should head back before they start a hunting party,” Hope suggested, nodding her head in the general direction they came from.

“You mean before they throw a party on the grounds of good riddance,” Penelope smiled.

“Watch it, Park,” Hope uttered, returning Penelope’s smile. “Or I might get inspired,” Hope added, and well, Josie did always say she poked.

“Legendary tribrid taking tips from a hot-shot witch,” Penelope mused, moving her hands in the air like she hung up an invisible banner.

“Hot-shot,” Hope snorted. “If your magic was half as great as your ego, I might actually have some genuine competition.”

“So you’re not all bark and no bite after all. Josie must like that tongue of yours. She certainly used to appreciate mine.”

Hope guffawed, shaking her head at another slow clap from Penelope, though this one felt somewhat deserved for belittling Penelope’s abilities as a witch. “Considering you’re so convinced of the aptness of your tongue, you better work on an apology,” Hope advised, somewhat sternly because in this case, she wasn’t playing around.

“I suppose I did give Josie a bit of a fright,” Penelope admitted. “Fair warning, though, apologizing without sounding sarcastic isn’t my strong suit.”

Hope kept talking to Penelope until they reached Josie, who unfortunately by now was joined by the others. M.G and Lizzie must have lost their patience, waiting for them to catch up. That or those knuckleheads read the map wrong.

Hope wanted to let Josie know everything was okay, but she couldn’t exactly embrace her right now. Josie’s uneven breaths pained Hope to the point where she had to do something, anything. Hope had enough faith in whatever feelings Penelope still had for Josie to know she wasn’t going to spill the beans, but Josie didn’t know that.

“I think we’re headed in the wrong direction,” Hope announced with a loud groan. “Are you sure you were right about that riddle?” she questioned Lizzie.

“Duh, how could I not be? Give me that map,” Lizzie grumbled, snatching it out off M.G’s hands.

While M.G and Lizzie fussed over the path they had to take, Hope elbowed Penelope, inclining her head toward Josie. Hope then furthered the argument Lizzie had gotten into with M.G, giving Penelope the chance to try her hand at voicing a genuine apology to Josie for scaring her half to death.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Jo-Jo.”

Josie sucked in a breath and worked her jaw. It was unnerving how Penelope had the audacity to smile as if nothing happened. “What do you want?” Josie bit out lowly. All the while the others were a few paces ahead of them.

Penelope sighed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, squeezing Josie’s hand, “I mean it.”

Josie pulled her hand back as if burned. “What are you apologizing for exactly? Cheating on me? Tormenting me? Holding leverage against me?” she replied, blood beginning to boil under her skin.

Josie hated how Penelope still got to her after all this time, how she wriggled herself between the cracks and found ways to make Josie hurt. She didn’t understand why Penelope had to be so terrible.

Penelope’s smile fell. “Okay, that’s fair. I do have many things to apologize for. Your secret is safe with me. I wanted to let you know that.”

Josie released the breath she held. “You once told me I was the only one who mattered, the only one you saw, and I believed you,” she remembered with trembling fingers, wanting to reach for Hope to steady herself, to feel safe and loved. “But then I found you in the arms of another,” Josie recalled. It no longer stung the same way it used to, though the pain never fully left either. “I can’t take your word for anything.”

Josie wanted to give Penelope a chance to prove she was sincere this time, but Josie could no longer find it in her to be that naïve. She couldn’t trust Penelope’s promises or her actions because both had let Josie down more than once too much.

“Hope does,” Penelope replied, and those two words caught Josie’s attention.

In that exact moment, Hope turned around and gave Josie a nod which made Josie breathe easy again. She couldn’t put her trust in Penelope, but she did believe in Hope. Josie felt grounded in the fact Hope was there to watch over her.

“I need a favor,” Josie requested.

Penelope blinked twice. It wasn’t like Josie to ask for favors because she was the kind of person jumping at the opportunity to do something for others, but this was different, this was about Hope. “Anything,” Penelope agreed. “It’s the least I can do for the fright I gave you.”

Josie cupped her hand behind the shell of Penelope’s ear and leaned in to whisper, ignoring the familiar scent of Penelope’s perfume. Every day, breathing hurt less, and Josie hadn’t cried into her pillow anymore after the first night, when Hope was there to console her, to hold Josie the last time she broke down over Penelope.

Quite possibly, Josie would never comprehend the full gravity of why Penelope did what she did when they were together, but nonetheless, Josie found closure and peace that it was all in the past. She was happy now, loved by the person she loved in return.

When the treasure hunt ended with Hope opening the chest which contained a few silly balloons, Josie threw herself into Hope’s arms with a wide smile.

“Good job, Captain,” Josie said, hugging Hope tight.

“Hey, I’m the captain,” M.G objected. “Where’s my hug at?”

“Please, you couldn’t find the answer to a single riddle even if it was written on the back,” Penelope commented.

“Captain, hm?” Hope questioned Josie, eyes alight with amusement.

Josie wanted to stay in Hope’s arms, but she comforted herself with the knowledge she could do that all night tonight, and every other night of this camp, which was enough to make Josie’s smile unbreakable.

“I think everyone did a good job contributing to making this treasure hunt a success,” Josie spoke up. “How about a group hug?”

“Seriously?” Lizzie muttered. She grunted when M.G crushed her into his arms. “Why are you all so mushy today?” Lizzie wondered, groaning as they all squeezed into one big hug.

“I hate to say this, but I agree,” Penelope added. “I’m going to vomit if you all keep hugging me.”

Josie knew she was being mushy, but it was Hope’s fault for melting her heart into a puddle. Josie shared a subtle nod with Penelope, awaiting the favor she asked for.

 


	14. Chapter 14

“Close your eyes. I mean it, Hope. No peeking!”

“My eyes are closed,” Hope replied while she kept them covered with her hands. “Where are we going?”

Josie’s hands guided Hope. “It’s a surprise,” Josie answered, steering Hope to the right.

“I’m not good with surprises,” Hope shared, though for Josie she could try.

“Please trust me, I think you might like this one,” Josie whispered, kissing Hope’s cheek.

Hope smiled. “I trust you with my life, Jo,” she said sincerely, which wasn’t the issue. Not that surprises were all that bad, but Hope preferred knowing what was going on and what to expect.

Josie’s breath hitched audibly and then her lips caught Hope off guard.

Hope almost lost her balance when Josie just about jumped into her arms, but she didn’t care because Josie was worth falling for more than once. Hope wasted no time kissing Josie back, pouring her all into it, and feeling her heart beat wildly in her chest.

Josie panted against Hope’s mouth. “I should…,” Josie breathed, “continue to guide you.”

Hope knew curfew wasn’t for another hour or three, so she wasn’t worried about stalling for another kiss, though curfew or not, she always had time to lock lips with Josie.

Josie’s hand was soft in Hope’s and her voice was no different as she warned Hope where not to step to avoid tripping. Hope no longer covered her eyes with her hands, but she did keep them closed just like Josie had asked her to.

The surprise didn’t matter much, as long as Hope got to spend time with Josie, though she was curious to find out what Josie had planned. Hope missed the feel of Josie’s lips, which made her realize how whipped she was for the Saltzman girl.

“We’re here,” Josie announced after a while of walking through the woods. “You can open your eyes now.”

So Hope did. It took only a split second for her to decide she very much liked this surprise, and it had her smiling because the view had romance written all over it, something Hope secretly enjoyed.

The lake they stood in front of was decorated with a multitude of white glowing candles that appeared to float an inch or two above the water. At the side, near the dock, there was a small boat with two paddles.

“Josie…,” Hope whispered, realizing she hadn’t said a word since she opened her eyes, awed by the sight. “How did you do all of this?”

“I had help from…an ally,” Josie answered, reaching for Hope’s hand.

“Penelope,” Hope hummed, understanding now why Josie was whispering all secretive with Penelope earlier. Not that Hope worried for even a second something was wrong. It was a kind gesture of Penelope to help out Josie.

“Does this mean you like it?” Josie inquired with a careful smile.

“It’s perfect, simply perfect, just like you.”

Josie’s cheeks grew rosier than before. “I wanted tonight to be special because I love you, Hope. I really, I just…I love you.”

Hope’s breath caught, hearing those words from Josie and the emotion behind them. “I love you too, Jo,” Hope swore, wrapping her arms around Josie, spinning a slow circle.

“If you keep making me feel this loved, I might just…” But then Josie abruptly shut her mouth.

Hope tilted her head to the side, listening in as Josie’s heart skipped a beat. “Might just what?” Hope asked, running her thumb across Josie’s bottom lip. “You can be my little spoon tonight if you tell me,” Hope bribed as if it wasn’t practically set in stone already she would hold Josie throughout the night.

Josie blushed so much it was incredible she didn’t pass out from all the blood rising up to her cheeks. “Maybe I’m being a hopeless romantic and nothing more, or a hopeless dreamer,” Josie sighed softly, smiling. “But I might just marry you someday, Hope.”

Hope’s heart flipped in her chest. A quick flash of images of what could be in the future crossed her mind, and she wouldn’t mind one bit having Josie close for a long time. “Who knows,” Hope replied, tucking a strand of hair behind Josie’s ear, “perhaps I do get to be that lucky.”

Josie’s entire face brightened. She swung her arms around Hope tight enough to knock the wind out of Hope’s lungs. Hope lifted Josie up, lips overlapping lips while their tongues met. Hope meant what she said, it wasn’t some flirty response, and she had a feeling Josie’s words carried every bit of truth as well.

Once they had to break apart so Josie could catch her breath, they climbed into the canoe together. Hope steadfastly took both of the paddles into her hands, only to be stopped by a very persistent Josie wanting to help row.

Help, yes, the cold water that splashed onto Hope and thus soaked her shirt, was so very helpful indeed.

“Josie!” Hope shrieked, taking revenge by making a modest wave, which she dropped right on top of Josie.

Josie squealed. “The w-water is f-f-freezing,” she said, dropping the paddle in favor of rubbing her hands up and down her arms.

Hope ditched her paddle as well, even though it meant they were now drifting somewhere in the middle of the lake. It was nothing some magic couldn’t remedy. “You’re shivering,” Hope noted, using the opportunity to wrap her arms around Josie. “I’ll warm you up,” Hope promised.

Josie’s nose was wet and cold when she nudged it against Hope’s neck, resting her chin on Hope’s shoulder. “Don’t move too soon,” Josie whispered, hugging Hope.

“I’m not going anywhere, Jo,” Hope replied, pressing a kiss to the top of Josie’s head.

“Something tells me you soaked me on purpose to use it as an excuse to hold me.”

“I recall you splashing me first,” Hope pointed out. “Sounds like this was your sneaky ploy all along.”

“That sounds better than admitting I was being clumsy.”

Hope thought it was cute Josie couldn’t row properly. It made tonight all the more perfect, but there was one thing that would truly make everything complete for Hope, something which had been on her mind all day.

“Jo, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Hope mentioned, pulling away enough to look Josie in the eyes while still keeping her warm. “I’m not sure how to go about this, so bear with me,” Hope warned, chewing her lip.

“What is it?”

“I feel like I practiced this about a dozen times in front of the mirror,” Hope chuckled in an attempt to hide how nervous she felt. “Probably because I have,” she added truthfully. “It might be easier if I get out right now and stop explaining.”

“You can ask me anything, Hope,” Josie whispered, stroking Hope’s hand with her thumb.

“Josie Saltzman,” Hope uttered, gazing into the eyes she saw last when she went to sleep every night and first each morning when she awoke. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Josie’s thumb stilled. “Girl-girlfriend?” she repeated, lips slightly apart. “You want us to be together…officially?”

“Again so surprised,” Hope smiled. “Yes, I’d love to date you, Jo, with mushy romantic moments and everything else that makes you tick. If you’ll have me,” Hope sighed wistfully, running a hand through Josie’s hair because she needed that small touch.

This, Josie, the possibility of a relationship, it was all so tangible Hope could almost taste it, and she had no idea what she would do if Josie rejected her. Hope had faith in Josie, and in the future that awaited them. It gave Hope enough strength and courage to profess her feelings, to admit she wanted this to be as real as it could be.

Josie surged forward, falling into Hope’s lap with words of love as Josie claimed Hope’s lips.

Butterflies and the whole damn zoo erupted in Hope’s stomach while she succumbed to the soft, passionate attack on her mouth.

Hope buried her hands in Josie’s hair while Josie moved to straddle Hope’s lap. Their mouths moved in harmony to a song only they could hear. Hope kept each kiss light and delicate, careful not to break skin in her temptation to bite, if just a little.

Hope stopped when she tasted something somewhat salty. “Jo,” she uttered, swallowing at the tears that ran down Josie’s face.

“Tears of joy,” Josie whispered, smiling widely. “I don’t ever want this night to end. Is there any way you could freeze time so we could stay here like this?” she inquired, smiling brighter with each passing second.

“Come here, you hopeless romantic,” Hope chuckled, sliding her arms around Josie’s waist.

“Hopeless?” Josie repeated with a shake of her head. “More like hopeful.”

Hope shook her head, smiling at how Josie was so adorable, Hope could eat her up. “I’m going to kiss you now,” Hope whispered, leaning in. “I love you, Jo.”

“I love you more,” Josie replied, pecking Hope’s lips.

Hope kissed back. “I love you most, go fish,” she all but huffed, stealing another kiss.

“Why fish when I already caught the best?”

“Shut up,” Hope blushed, glad Josie couldn’t hear how much her heart raced.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Josie rested her chin in the palm of her hand, smiling dreamily while all she could think of was her girlfriend. Her heart hadn’t stopped doing summersaults ever since Hope asked Josie if she wanted to be her girlfriend about five nights ago. It came out of the blue, despite Hope’s open declaration of love in the presence of Penelope, and Josie couldn’t be happier.

If Hope had needed another week or a month, or even a year, Josie would have gladly given it to her. Josie had no idea how she managed to get so lucky. If this was nothing but a dream, she never wanted to wake up. Josie was shook her admission of thinking about the possibility of marriage hadn’t scared off Hope, hadn’t made Hope pull up those walls of her.

Josie knew they were both young, though there was no harm in dreaming of a future with the girl she loved. This camp was by far the most brilliant idea her parents ever came up with. Josie was going to miss sharing a bed with Hope and cuddling once everyone would have to return to school, where Josie would share a room with her sister again.

“Earth to Jo,” Lizzie said, snapping her fingers in front of Josie’s face.

Ah, speak of, well, not the devil, though Lizzie did disturb Josie from walking through memory lane, daydreaming about Hope.

Josie blinked. “Hmm, what?” she responded, bringing her attention to her sister.

“Are you…drooling?” Lizzie asked, scrunching up her nose. “Wait a minute…your behavior… I’ve seen this before,” she mumbled while her eyes grew wide.

“You’ve been smiling a lot,” Lizzie noted, tapping her index finger. “You ate broccoli as if it was chocolate, which, yuck,” she went on, tapping her next finger.

To be honest, Josie hardly noticed what she ate because Hope had held her hand under the table.

“You’re distracted literally all the time,” Lizzie said, moving her hands in an extra dramatic flair. “You…you like someone! That’s why you’ve been acting weird.”

“What? What, no,” Josie denied vehemently, shaking her head a little too fast. “I don’t like anyone,” she lied. The words tasted bitter on Josie’s tongue, being dishonest with her sister gave her a sickening feeling.

“You so do, you liar,” Lizzie huffed, lips breaking out into a grin. “Who is it? I’m going to find out whether you tell me or not.”

“Liz, I…I need more time,” Josie tried, unable to lie again.

“I’m your sister, I thought we told each other everything? Why can’t you tell me who…oh my god, don’t tell me you and Penelope are dating again. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, and she’s been awfully friendly to you recently.”

“I’m not with Penelope,” Josie spoke before her sister could ramble on. “Liz, I promise, what I had with Penelope is in the past and that’s where it’s going to stay,” which was at least one thing Josie was able to be honest about. “Can I please like someone without you turning it into an interrogation?”

“Fine, I get it, you want time,” Lizzie replied, faltering. “I didn’t mean to pry, I was just curious. There’s no need to be so snappy.”

“I…I’m sorry.”

Josie sighed deeply when Lizzie excused herself to get a drink.

“Don’t let what she said bother you,” Penelope said in passing, lingering for a moment. “You should stand up for yourself more, it becomes you. And never be sorry for setting boundaries, Jo-Jo.”

“Penny- Penelope, wait,” Josie uttered quietly, grasping Penelope’s wrist before she could walk away. “Why?” Josie inquired, letting go. “Why did you have such a change of heart?”

Josie needed to know why Penelope went from being wickedly mean at every turn to being so kind she lend Josie a hand when she asked for a favor. Josie knew Penelope apologized for the past, but that still didn’t explain the 180 she pulled.

Penelope raised her chin, leveling her gaze with Josie’s. Penelope’s hand came up to reach for a stray hair close to Josie’s cheek. “Who says my heart ever changed, Jo-Jo?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My feels...why do I do this to myself? Excuse me while I go scream into the void. :))


	15. Chapter 15

Hope chanced a quick glance around the perimeter before she wrapped her arms snuggly around Josie’s waist and found those soft lips she couldn’t grow tired of. Today, they were supposed to go hiking again, according to Caroline’s, “what? It’s healthy.” Instead, Hope had taken her girlfriend by the hand and strayed from the path.

Josie’s stilted sigh broke Hope out of it, raising her hand to caress Josie’s cheek. “What’s troubling your mind?” Hope asked silently, holding Josie’s gaze, following each minuscule movement of Josie’s head.

“I’m thinking about Lizzie.”

“That’s not very romantic,” Hope teased, chuckling lightly. “Is she being a pain in the butt again with her never-ending questions?” she inquired on a more serious note, knowing how this morning, Josie escaped her arms rather early to go to Lizzie who just about demanded Josie’s presence.

It was a little irritating if Hope was honest. The few mornings they had left at this camp were supposed to be theirs. But Hope knew Lizzie would always claim most of Josie’s attention, and Hope wasn’t going to argue or fight Josie over something she couldn’t help. Rather than doing that and losing the best thing that happened to her in a long time, Hope enjoyed the time she did have with Josie, cherished every second of it, filled with many kisses.

“Yeah, she…she’s curious, that’s all,” Josie answered, rubbing her hand down her arm while she stared down at the ground. “I’m not used to keeping things from Lizzie unless it’s for her own good, but this…,” she explained, slowly lifting her chin up. “Am I being unreasonable for wanting to wait? How do you feel about waiting?”

“Oh god,” Josie whispered, eyes suddenly wide. “I’m not keeping this a secret out of shame. If anything, I’m proud I can call you my girlfriend. And happy, so happy I could scream it off some rooftop somewhere,” she rambled all adorable and cutesy, making Hope smile.

“I know, babe,” Hope assured, pressing a kiss to Josie’s lips. “You’re not being unreasonable and I know that this, us,” she spoke, taking both of Josie’s hands in hers, “isn’t something you’re trying to hide in the dark out of shame. I know you’re worried about how your family will react, which is fair. We both know your sister was never a fan of me, and there’s no telling what your parents might say. We’ll tell others when both of us are ready. I promise you there’s no rush.”

Hope’s heart thudded in her chest as a smile blossomed onto Josie’s face. The sight took Hope’s breath away. Not even a split second later, she heard footsteps, and then an unaware Josie caught Hope’s mouth before Hope had a chance to warn her.

A throat cleared near Josie and Hope, causing Josie to jump.

Josie spun around to face the intruder so fast; Hope had to steady her to keep Josie from tripping over her own two feet. God, Hope loved that cute dork, which nearly made her forget they were caught kissing, again.

And again, it was Penelope’s grinning face greeting them, though she was not alone.

“M.G, Penelope,” Josie said, plucking at the hem of her shirt. “What are you guys doing here?”

“I, we, ah,” M.G replied, scratching the back of his neck, looking pretty much everywhere except at Josie and Hope. “I noticed you two were gone, so I went looking, and Penelope followed me. She said not to go this direction because she had a feeling you wouldn’t be here, but I heard something, so I walked this way anyway, which I probably shouldn’t have.”

Hope opened her mouth and closed it, unsure what to say while Josie did the same.

“I didn’t see anything,” M.G added. “So I’ll just…,” he uttered, gesturing vaguely in the opposite direction, clearing his throat. “Be on my way, not having seen a thing.”

“M.G,” Josie tried, but her voice came out like a hoarse whisper, and M.G was already walking away.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t tell Lizzie,” Penelope spoke. “He knows I’d turn him into a toad or a snail if he does.”

“Jo and I appreciate that,” Hope replied, adding a smile, knowing Penelope aimed to help.

Penelope’s eyes drifted toward Josie, lingering for a beat before she averted them. “If I catch you two kissing again,” Penelope said, “you owe me a drink.”

Hope had a feeling that was likely to happen, though she really ought to be more careful in the future to warn Josie ahead of time or to choose less public places to make out because the more days they spent being together, the more risks they took.

The other day, Josie cupped Hope’s cheeks and kissed her when they were the last to leave the cafeteria after dinner. Anyone could have walked back in, especially when Hope had hooked her fingers under the loops of Josie’s jeans to pull her into her for another kiss.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Josie wasn’t one to curse, not much at least. Right now, however, she felt like cursing up a storm. Night had fallen and one would think she learned her lesson after getting caught by her ex not once but twice, and by her best friend as well.

“Josie…Hope?”

Josie winced at the sound of her mother’s voice which was decidedly not good, considering it was past curfew, and she was found sitting on the docks with Hope, wrapped up in a kiss.

Hope’s eyes were big like saucers. “I’m sorry,” she whispered in Josie’s ear, “I didn’t hear her coming.”

Josie shook her head. This wasn’t on Hope, Josie was the one who suggested coming out here tonight, and she knew her mother was good at sneaking up on people out of nowhere. “It’s okay,” she promised, clasping Hope’s hand.

“Do you girls have any idea how late it is?” Caroline questioned, crossing her arms.

“Oh, is it past curfew already?” Hope replied, making it sound so sincere Josie blinked at how quickly her girlfriend regained her composure. “We must have lost track of time,” Hope claimed, though Josie knew her mother was smarter than that.

“It’s five past three,” Caroline sternly pointed out.

Josie couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping a little. Wow, they really did lose track of time. It was barely one when Josie snuck out with Hope. Josie had no idea they had been talking and kissing for two hours because she could have sworn it felt like twenty minutes, if that.

“Josette, a word,” Caroline sighed.

“M-mom…I can explain,” Josie tried, reluctantly letting go of Hope’s hand.

Josie’s stomach filled with dread as she followed her mother. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say yet, but she had to think fast. The cat was out of the bag now, there was no way her mother hadn’t seen her lock lips with Hope, considering Josie heard her mother say her name mid-kiss.

“I’m in love with Hope,” Josie blurted out, which wasn’t how she intended for the reveal to go, so much for easing her mother into it to let her adjust to the idea first. “We’re in a relationship and Lizzie doesn’t know yet,” Josie added, deciding she may as well. “B-because I don’t know how to tell her,” she admitted sheepishly.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way, mom,” Josie whispered, gnawing the inside of her cheek, fearing the backlash she risked receiving. “I didn’t mean to break the rules. It was all my idea, not Hope’s. I roped her into this. Don’t punish her, punish me.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Caroline sighed out, much softer than before. Two strong arms came up around Josie’s middle. “I’m not mad and I’m not going to punish either one of you,” Caroline said, voice gentle and typically maternal. “Even though you did stay out past curfew,” she pointed out, stroking Josie’s back.

“As for you and Hope being together,” Caroline continued, at which part Josie held her breath, “I knew.”

Josie blinked her eyes rapidly, stepping back to look at her mother. “You…you knew?” Josie questioned, frowning. “But… how?”

Caroline smiled tenderly. “A mother always knows,” she explained, cradling Josie’s jaw with her hand. “All I ever want is for you to be happy and healthy, my sweet girl,” Caroline whispered.

Josie felt tears well up in her eyes. “I’m scared to tell dad,” she confessed, moving forward to hug her mother, finding comfort in her arms. “I think I can handle Lizzie, but dad…I don’t know how he’ll react,” Josie uttered, fearing he would disapprove because he took on the role of being Hope’s guardian.

“I’ll worry about your dad. I’ll talk to him, and I’m sure he’ll understand and support your feelings. You can go to your cabin with Hope now, but no shenanigans-”

“Mom!” Josie gasped, cheeks bright red.

“-and no more sneaking out past curfew,” Caroline finished. “You both need sleep, separately, with clothes on.”

“Mom, please, this is so embarrassing,” Josie groaned, wanting to hide her face while her mother chuckled. “You already taught me about the birds and the bees when I was twelve. Do I really have to go through that again?”

“I’m kidding, honey,” Caroline replied, squeezing Josie’s shoulder while she added, “you’re allowed to cuddle. You did look rather snug the first time I saw you two sharing a bed.”

Josie groaned even louder at that. “I can’t believe you walked in on us while we were asleep and didn’t tell me, and wait… the first time? How many times were there? Mom!” she whisper-shouted, feeling the level of awkwardness going up from a seven to a solid nine.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m sorry about my mom,” Josie sighed ever so softly. “She can be a little…intense.”

Hope brushed her hand through Josie’s hair, smiling tenderly at her girlfriend. “I’m not going to run away just because your mother caught us making out by the docks,” Hope promised. “By now I’m used to people seeing us together.”

“Are you sure?” Josie questioned, chewing her lip. “About being used to it, I mean,” she clarified, placing her hand on Hope’s hip.

“Because…,” Josie continued, sneaking her hand under Hope’s shirt, “I’m thinking I could tell Lizzie tomorrow, so we won’t have to sneak around so much anymore. Not…not that I don’t like the thrill,” she explained, swallowing while her hand wandered higher.

Hope groaned when Josie’s fingers traced her ribs, inching a tad higher, tempting Hope to ditch her shirt altogether or to even sleep in the nude. The former was a quite possible outcome, but the latter, on the other hand, was a stage they hadn’t reached yet.

“Babe,” Hope whined, tangling her hand in Josie’s hair. “You’re distracting me,” Hope whispered, gazing at Josie’s lips, “and if you keep touching me like that, I’m going to agree with everything you say, no matter what it is.”

Josie shifted closer and kissed the corner of Hope’s mouth. “Like this?” Josie inquired, slowly moving her index finger down the valley of Hope’s breasts.

Hope let out a grunt and caught Josie’s wrist. “I thought your mother wanted us to behave,” Hope recalled, though if Josie kept winding her up, Hope wasn’t going to be able to keep her hands off of Josie anytime soon.

“Jo,” Hope breathed out, fisting Josie’s shirt, pulling her into a kiss. “You don’t have to do anything to get my permission to tell your sister,” Hope mentioned, wanting it to be said. “If you’re ready to tell her, then you have my support.”

“I’m ready,” Josie hummed, eyes darkening a little, lips slightly apart. She grabbed Hope’s hand and placed it on her chest. “I-is this… o-okay?” Josie asked quiet and delicately, breathing out in short little puffs.

That wasn’t the kind of ready Hope had expected, not that it was an unpleasant surprise by any means. Hope answered Josie’s question by capturing her lips, letting Josie know that yes, it was okay, more than.

Hope hushed her inner wolf until Josie’s hot mouth on hers pleaded Hope not to hold back. Hope kissed Josie with the gentleness of a lullaby and the passionate fever of an Argentine tango, making Hope feel so much, it was as if her heart tried to leap out of her chest to jump into Josie’s arms.

Hope loved Josie, and if Josie went through with telling Lizzie, Hope was going to make sure Lizzie knew, too.

 


	16. Chapter 16

Hope watched Josie with fondness, enamored by how beautiful this girl was as Josie slept, appearing at peace, no doubt surrounded by sweet dreams. Josie’s hair was splayed out onto one pillow while her arms hugged what was supposed to be Hope’s pillow, though Hope didn’t mind letting her cute girlfriend hog up all of the pillows and blankets.

Josie’s chest rose and fell in even breaths. She snored a little bit, which made her even more adorable than Hope thought possible. Admiring Josie right before dawn had become Hope’s new favorite way of spending time. She chuckled softly each time Josie yawned in her sleep, watching with rapt attention how Josie smacked her lips together, making a cute sound.

Honestly, a baby dinosaur had nothing on Josie. Hope bent toward Josie, kissing her forehead as she always did before Josie rose. Hope’s lips lingered and she closed her eyes for a moment, wanting nothing more than to savor every fraction of every second.

Hope’s heart sped up, beating so loud; it could have woken up Josie if Hope had held her wrapped up in her arms.

“I love you, Jo,” Hope whispered, truer than the last time she said it, as her feelings grew stronger with each passing day. “I’ll always love you. You’re special to me, more than you know. One day, I hope I get to show you, if this stroke of luck I’m experiencing lasts because sometimes…” Hope took a deep breath. “Sometimes,” she sighed, “I feel like you deserve so much better than me, and I wouldn’t blame you if you’d realize that.”

Hope ventured lower, pecking Josie’s lips.

“Mhmm,” Josie hummed, stirring. “Hope?” she murmured, voice ridden with sleep, eyes still closed.

Hope snuck her arms around Josie’s waist. “It’s warm out, but stay anyway,” Hope requested, nuzzling close.

Josie smiled that pretty smile of hers. “With pleasure,” she replied, tucking her head in the crook of Hope’s neck.

Hope kissed the top of Josie’s head, holding her world with whispers of love.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Josie had meant to tell her sister as soon as the sun rose, but she got so nervous she almost threw up. It was her idea, she wanted Lizzie to know the truth once and for all, but Josie wasn’t sure where to even begin. She informed her girlfriend she was going to wait until nightfall, to which Hope agreed with nothing but love, support, and understanding.

Hope was always patient with Josie, didn’t pressure her. Josie smiled, toying with a lock of her hair, wondering how on earth she deserved to get this lucky. And it wasn’t just Hope making Josie feel that way. She also won the lottery when it came down to her parents. Her mother was true to her words and had spoken to her father.

After breakfast, once everyone had left the cafeteria, Josie got swept up in an expected hug by her father. He told her that he loved her no matter who she loved, which was pretty similar to what he said a few years back when Josie came out as pansexual. Her father also said that if she loved Hope, then she had his blessing because outside of their family, he couldn’t think of a person who would protect Josie more fiercely than Hope would.

Josie felt good knowing she had the support of her parents, her best friend, and oddly enough even that of her ex; whom Josie used to swear was the devil reincarnated. But there was one more person, a very important one, whose support Josie needed above everyone else’s. Lizzie was her sister, her twin, and Josie couldn’t help but put her first because it was in her nature.

With that in mind, Josie held her head up high as she began her walk toward her sister’s cabin. She could do this; she was going to do this. It was time; Josie was ready to provide her sister with answers to the questions Lizzie had asked more than once.

It was night now, two hours shy of curfew, which gave Josie enough time to tell Lizzie, and to discuss it afterward, though she hoped for the best. Josie imagined her sister might need a minute or two to adjust to the idea, to let it all sink in.

Josie repeated her confession over and over in her head while she reached her sister’s cabin. Dana wasn’t around, considering Penelope mentioned Dana always hung out with either her or others until curfew forced Dana to go back.

“You got this,” Josie whispered, nodding to herself before she knocked once to announce her presence.

Filled with determination and certainty, Josie opened the door and entered.

“Liz, can we t-” The rest of the sentence Josie had meant to say froze in the back of her throat.

Lizzie’s eyes brimmed with tears, enough to make Josie’s sting. Runny mascara had smudged Lizzie’s cheeks, and a purple-bluish mark discolored her rosy skin on her left cheek. Clothes were strewn across the floor, with Lizzie sitting on her knees on a small pile of them.

“Lizzie,” Josie gasped, rushing to kneel in front of her sister. “What happened? Who did this to you?” she questioned, grasping Lizzie’s chin with her index finger and thumb, carefully moving her head to the side to inspect the bruise.

“Ra-Rafael d-doesn’t l-like m-me-meee,” Lizzie sobbed, letting her tears stream.

Josie’s eyes widened. She swallowed hard because while Rafael had a temper, Josie didn’t think he’d ever be capable of doing such a terrible thing. “Rafael did this to you?”

Lizzie shook her head, wincing as she did so. “Dana did,” she revealed through gritted teeth. “I lash-lashed out…at her, and she…she pun-punched me.”

Josie wanted to set Dana on fire. How dare that irritating vampire lay a hand on her sister!? It didn’t matter if Lizzie lashed out, that didn’t justify Dana using her strength to hurt Lizzie. Besides, it was against school policy to cause someone bodily harm.

Josie fetched her sister a bottle of water, urging her to drink a bit while she caressed Lizzie’s back.

“I walked in on Dana making out with Rafael. She knows I like him, I know she did it on purpose, and I bet she’s not even interested in him,” Lizzie explained, balling up a shirt, throwing it as far as she could while letting out a grunt. “Dana said I could never stay as young and beautiful as her because I age and she doesn’t, but she’s not even _that_ pretty.”

“You’re a hundred times more beautiful, no matter your age,” Josie assured her sister, “don’t listen to what Dana says.”

“It hurt, and I wanted to act as if it didn’t get to me, but instead I called her some names, and then she punched me,” Lizzie replied, lip quivering. “Everything is a mess. Rafael hooked up with my enemy, I have a bruise that’s ruining my perfect skin, and I have to put up with sharing a cabin with Dana while I want to share one with you. We always sleep next to each other. It’s not fair we got split up.”

“I know, it’s not fair,” Josie agreed, though with mixed feelings. Admittedly, at first, she wasn’t happy she didn’t get to share with her sister, but that changed quickly. Her nights were amazing, spending them cuddling with Hope.

“Your skin isn’t ruined, Liz,” Josie promised, thinking of ways she could remedy the bruise. “Magic could help you heal. It’s a light injury, so it should be possible if we ask help from...someone,” she suggested while Penelope and Hope came to mind.

“Magic won’t heal my broken heart,” Lizzie whispered, choking back tears.

Josie’s heart clenched. She couldn’t bear her sister hurting like this, and she felt helpless knowing she couldn’t absorb Lizzie’s pain to carry it so Lizzie wouldn’t have to. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Rafael,” Josie spoke, putting a hand on Lizzie’s shoulder.

“It’s not just Rafael,” Lizzie sighed, and those words took Josie by surprise.

“What do you mean?”

Lizzie chuckled bitterly. “You’ll probably laugh if I tell you. It’s ridiculous, really.”

“I won’t laugh, I promise,” Josie swore, looking her sister in the eyes.

“I’m not as oblivious as people think. I know M.G has been trying to make me swoon,” Lizzie sighed, rubbing at her eyes. “And he hasn’t been as unsuccessful as he thinks, but…but I don’t want to lead him on when nothing is going to happen anyway. I like him, I do, of course, I do, he’s a good friend, but I can’t be with him.”

Josie bit her lip. She had no idea Lizzie liked M.G back, but it wasn’t ridiculous at all. If anything, Josie would encourage her sister to pursue her best friend because she knew it could make both of them happy. M.G paid attention to Lizzie in ways Rafael never had, and he remembered important details others so easily missed.

“M.G is sweet to me, he really is,” Lizzie continued. “But I can’t see a future with him. I just can’t, no matter how much I wish I could. M.G will always be a teenager and he can’t give me the family I want.”

Josie didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t going to try to talk her sister into giving M.G a chance if Lizzie was adamant about wanting to further the family tree.

“Enough about me,” Lizzie decided before Josie had formed any sentence whatsoever. “What did you want to say, Jo? And don’t say it’s nothing because I know something is up. You came here for a reason. There’s something on your mind. I can tell. I’ve had a mild headache all day.”

“Is it about the person you’re seeing?” Lizzie inquired. “It is, isn’t it?”

Josie wrung her hands. “It is,” she admitted after a moment of hesitation. “I’m… I’m in a relationship,” she confessed, chewing her lip. “With…with an amazing girl, whom I love. I feel like she gets me, even when I don’t say anything at all. She understands my silence. With her, it’s as if quiet things are being heard.”

“When you describe her like that, I’m not surprised you tell me she’s amazing. Who is she?”

“It’s Hope,” Josie revealed. “Hope M-”

“Hope Mikaelson?” Lizzie gasped, eyebrows so high they almost touched her hairline. “The tribrid? Our frenemy? The one you’ve been sharing a cabin with?”

“That’s the one,” Josie confirmed, and that last word made her smile because yes, a thousand times yes, Hope was the one.

“Oh my god,” Lizzie whispered, her face a mixture of pure shock and a pinch of horror. “I can’t believe that out of all people, you’re dating the triple breed.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Lizzie said, blinking. “Huh, okay. I guess it’s an improvement compared to your psycho ex, and Hope isn’t half bad.”

Josie was finally able to breathe properly again. A large weight fell off of her shoulders now that Lizzie knew the truth.

“I must admit I’m kind of relieved.”

“Relieved?” Josie questioned with furrowed brows. “Relieved how?”

“I really thought you got back together with Penelope and lied about it,” Lizzie revealed with a dry chuckle. “Penelope is clearly still in love with you, so I thought you were trying to hide that you gave her another chance or something.”

Josie had to correct her sister, on part of what she said at least. She hadn’t been dishonest when she stated she wasn’t dating Penelope again. The latter, sadly, was true. Josie knew Penelope’s heart still bled for her, thanks to Penelope’s confession, and despite the pain Penelope caused in the past, it hurt Josie knowing she couldn’t return Penelope’s feelings.

Josie never wanted to break Penelope’s heart, even though Penelope very much broke Josie’s in the past. Josie didn’t love Penelope, she was in love with Hope, and that wasn’t bound to change, not with a love that ran so deep it could make the ocean jealous.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**_Ten years later…_ **

 

 

“Mommy, mommy, I dwewed flowels fo you!”

Hope gasped and kneeled down, embracing the tiny girl as the little beam of sunlight threw her arms around Hope’s neck. “You did?” she asked, ruffling the mop of messy brown curls.

“U-huh!” the excited child exclaimed.

“It’s beautiful, I love it,” Hope said, accepting the drawing. “You did a really good job, kiddo.”

“Put it on the wegewatol, mommy!”

Hope chuckled, feeling her heart swell with love. “I’ll put it on the refrigerator, Hayley,” she promised with a kiss to the crown of her daughter’s head.

“Mommy, have you saw my puppy?” a small voice called out.

Hope knew she didn’t stand a chance when her son walked in with those cute little pouty lips of his that made it very difficult to ever say no to him, which was exactly why Hope got him a dog in the first place.

“I haven’t, sweetheart,” Hope answered, walking over to her son to pick him up. She placed her two-and-a-half-year-old on her hip, wandering out of the kitchen. “Did you leave the door open again?”

“No, mommy.”

“Do you remember what mommy told you about lying?” Hope questioned, combing her son’s blonde locks with her hand while he nodded, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. “Be honest, Niklaus, did you forget to close the door when you came inside?”

Tears welled up in little Nicky’s eyes. “Y-yes, I fowgotted.”

“Oh, it’s okay, baby,” Hope hushed, rubbing her son’s back. Her heart ached when Nicky buried his face in her neck. “Mommy’s not mad at you. We’re going to find your puppy, and we’re going to be extra super careful next time, okay?”

“O-okay,” Nicky hiccupped through his tears.

“Mammy!” Hayley squealed, so loud it made Hope’s ears hurt. The tiny toddler bolted toward the door where the love of Hope’s life walked in with a squirming puppy in her hands.

Nicky’s eyes lit up. “You founded Eli!” he shouted, making grabby hands, wriggling in Hope’s arms.

“I take it it’s too late for me to say ‘honey, I’m home’.”

Hope smiled at her wife, putting Nicky down so he could run over to his other mother. “The twins missed you,” she sighed out, circling her arms around Josie’s waist as soon as she handed over Eli to Nicky and Hayley.

“I missed them as well,” Josie replied, pulling Hope closer.

Hope stole a quick kiss, smiling at the way their children giggled, which was ten times better than the ew-phase they went through half a year ago. “I love you, Jo,” she whispered, kissing her wife’s nose.

“I love you too, Hope,” Josie hummed, nudging Hope’s nose until their lips met.

Hope smiled into it. “Guess what, babe,” she uttered, kissing her wife again.

“Hmm…” Josie wriggled her nose, all adorable the way she did whenever she was thinking something over, as Hope had learned over the past decade. “Either you cleaned out the garage,” Josie guessed while Hope shook her head, “or you made another painting of our little cuties, which we’ll have to hang up somewhere special.”

“I’m always painting or sketching, that’s not a surprise,” Hope pointed out with a smile while her wife agreed she was right.

“Suplies?” Hayley cooed, ever the little eavesdropper.

Hope crouched down. “It’s a surprise for the most beautiful mammy in the whole wide world,” she explained, booping Hayley’s tiny nose.

Hayley giggled in response. “No suplies Hay?” she inquired with a pout, pressing her finger against her chest.

“Maybe a little bit for you and your brother as well,” Hope answered, covering her ears when the twins began to scream whilst jumping up and down.

“Suplies!” Hayley and Nicky squealed.

Josie chuckled, eyes twinkling. “If you got them another d-o-g, I am moving,” she warned Hope.

“It’s not a p-u-p-p-y,” Hope promised, taking her wife’s hands in hers, carefully spelling out the word. She learned her lesson on what not to say in front of their children a couple of months ago, when Hope suggested indulging in dessert after Hayley and Nicky would be off to bed.

Between the twins squealing and Josie batting her eyelashes; Hope could no longer keep it to herself long enough to add a drumroll.

“Your mother,” Hope began, glancing at Hayley and Nicky, “your grandmother will be staying with us for a few days. She arrives tomorrow.”

Josie’s lips parted. Her eyes filled with tears, and then she was in Hope’s arms. Hope caressed her wife’s back, knowing Josie hadn’t seen her mother since the twins had turned two.

“Nana?” Nicky questioned with a toothy grin.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” Hope confirmed. “Nana will visit us soon.”

Hayley’s face lit up. “Pwesens!” she shouted, smiling from ear to ear.

Josie chuckled. “My mother has got to stop spoiling our children with presents,” she whispered in her wife’s ear. “Thank you for arranging this, Hope. I have no idea how you did it. Last week, on the phone, she was halfway across the world and unsure if she could see us at all this year.”

Hope shrugged a shoulder. “I can be persuasive,” she claimed, thinking of how she roped her aunts and uncle into obtaining some artifacts Caroline was after all over the world, so Caroline could come over to celebrate Christmas.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Socked feet padded down the hall, faster as Josie ran out of the bathroom with two matching Christmas jumpers. They were red with little reindeers on them, picked up by Hayley and Nicky themselves when they all went shopping together two weeks ago.

“Hayley… Niklaus, come back here,” Josie demanded, chasing after the sneaky little rugrats as they giggled. “It’s too cold to walk around in your underwear. Mammy doesn’t want you to get sick.”

“Hayley and Nicky, listen to your mother,” Hope called out from downstairs. “Or else we will go to the doctor for another shot.”

“Nooooo,” the twins whined.

Josie shook her head, smiling, recalling how much the twins had fussed and whimpered when they had to get their flu shots last month. Oftentimes, Josie was too soft to put her foot down and be stern, but thankfully, she had her wife.

Josie bumped into Hayley and little Nicky as they had turned around to heed their mother’s warning. “Arms up,” Josie requested, wriggling them into their cute jumpers.

Josie hugged her little angels once she combed their hair and helped them brush their teeth. Anticipating her mother’s visit made her smile, especially because she owed her mother the world. Josie’s eyes flitted between her twins, whom thanks to her mother, would never have to merge, just as she didn’t have to do that with her sister.

One year before Josie turned twenty-two, she discovered something was horribly wrong. Ultimately, it was Hope’s shaky voice that revealed a truth Josie’s parents tried to hide with all of their might. There was to be a merge once Josie and Lizzie turned twenty-two, where one of them, the weaker one, would die. It explained to Josie why her mother was absent almost all the time. Then, one day, a solution came, but it came with a price.

Either Lizzie or Josie had to give up being a siphoner, if not, they would have to merge. So, naturally, Josie offered for her magic to be taken away. It was quite the sacrifice, though it was far better than dying or worse, risking killing Lizzie.

But fate decided otherwise. Josie had always known in her heart her sister wasn’t as selfish as everyone made her out to be. Lizzie had a bigger heart than people gave her credit for, so much so, she went behind Josie’s back to give up her powers, and all Lizzie had to say when Josie asked how she could do such a thing was, “magic is all around you, I couldn’t let you lose that part of yourself, not when you and Hope make such a great team.”

“Mammy loves both of you so, so much,” Josie breathed out, smiling as small arms reached around her neck.

When Hope and Josie made the choice to have children, Josie opted to go through pregnancy. It was easier than letting a tribrid go through the process. Upon learning Josie was expecting twins; she found it important Hope was able to pass on her parents’ names.

“I want pansakes,” Nicky pleaded, already halfway a pout Josie couldn’t resist.

“Pancakes, hm?” Josie smiled, tickling her son’s tummy. “I think you had those yesterday.”

“Not today,” Hayley – ever the cute little smartass – said.

Josie drew her twins closer, hugging them once more, not yet wanting to think about how one day; one of them would have to give up their siphoning powers, although so far they hadn’t shown any signs of magic.

The sound of the doorbell ringing brought Josie back to the present.

“Nana!” Nicky and Hayley cheered, running as fast as their little legs could carry them.

“Nana, nana, nana!” Hayley chirped, first to stumble into Caroline’s waiting arms. “You gotted pwesens?” Hayley inquired with wide serious eyes.

“Of course I do, beanie!” Caroline replied, matching Hayley’s enthusiasm. “Santa brought a large bag full of presents to my house just for the two of you,” Caroline said, scooping the twins up.

“I’m sure he did, mom,” Josie sighed, giving her mother a pointed look because they had been over this before, no more than one small present at a time.

Hope who was still by the door, holding it open, chuckled. “We might need another tree,” she spoke, chancing a glance outside as she added, “hello, welcome to our home. Please come in.”

“Yes, please do,” Josie agreed, shivering at the gush of cold wind. “We wouldn’t want Eli to get out again,” she reasoned with a quick polite smile.

Lizzie entered with Eloise on one hip and Rosalind on the other. Three years ago, she gave birth to those darling little girls. Ellie and Rose were particularly well-behaved, always saying please and thank you. Lizzie’s husband, whom Lizzie had referred to before as tall, dark, and handsome, followed in tow with a stack of presents in his arms.

“You wouldn’t believe the traffic on our way here,” Lizzie groaned, setting down Ellie and Rose. “And we had to make a stop because Ellie had to pee, and then we had to make another stop because _I_ had to pee.”

“You’re not late, don’t worry about it,” Josie assured her sister.

“Penny!” Nicky squealed, peeling himself away from his nana to hug his arms around Penelope’s legs.

Hayley followed suit. “Auntie Penny!”

Penelope ruffled her hands through their hair. “Hey, if it isn’t my favorite niece and nephew,” she said, whispering a modest spell that made fake snow appear in the living room.

Josie couldn’t even begin to complain about having to clean it up afterward. Penelope was a good aunt to her children, and she was glad she gave her old flame the chance to stay in her life, which was a decision Hope never treated as an issue.

“Vamos, Isabella,” Raven – a young gorgeous Latina – called out, sighing as she hovered at the entrance. “Come inside so Auntie Hope can close the door. It’s cold out.”

Josie welcomed the werewolf with a smile. Raven was Penelope’s girlfriend, had been for eight months, give or take, if Josie wasn’t mistaken.

“Si, mami,” Isabella muttered, stomping her feet to shake the snow off her boots. The five-year-old’s thick, brown curly hair was partially hidden underneath a hat. “Hayley, Nicky,” she smiled, waving at the twins with delight in her warm hazel eyes.

It was only the second time Hayley and Niklaus met Isabella, but they immediately waved back.

From what Josie had gathered, Raven used to have a boyfriend, who ditched her after finding out she got pregnant, and Penelope didn’t know at first Raven was a mother, but when Penelope learned the truth, she stuck around. Something about Penelope swearing she thought Raven was the one. Josie felt happy knowing Penelope was at peace with a little family of her own.

Seeing nothing but smiling faces on this lovely Christmas day filled Josie’s heart with warmth.

“Wait, Bella, sweetiepie, I’ll give you a hand with your coat,” Penelope spoke, walking over to Isabella. “Don’t smile at me like this interaction melts your heart, Saltzman,” she sighed while she passed Josie, “I’m only trying to help my- my ah, girlfriend’s daughter because I know her zipper gets stuck sometimes.”

Josie raised her hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

Hope smiled in a way that had trouble written all over it. “I must say, parenting becomes you, Penelope,” she commented, and yes, there it was.

Josie wrapped her arms around her short wife from behind. “You always have to poke, don’t you?” she whispered, resting her chin on Hope’s shoulder while she observed their family with a smile.

“Gracias, mommy,” Isabella said to Penelope once she was freed from her jacket. “Can I go play with Hayley, Nicky, Ellie, and Rose?”

Penelope opened and closed her mouth. She glanced at Raven, who nodded. “Um, ah, sure thing,” Penelope answered, smiling as her eyes found Isabella again. “She called me mommy,” she uttered, blinking away a tear while the little girl ran off to play with her friends. “Did you hear that? She called me mommy.”

If Josie wasn’t smiling before as if her heart melted, she sure was now.

“I heard, mi amor,” Raven responded, smiling at Penelope.

“Why is your house so dusty?” Lizzie commented, wiping away tears. “Some of it got stuck in my eyes.”

Penelope rolled her eyes, though she smiled. “It wouldn’t kill you to admit you’re mushy on the inside, Elizabeth.”

“Maybe your magic isn’t what it used to be, Parkman. This fake snow feels like amateur hour.”

“At least I still got magic,” Penelope shot back.

“Oh please, my girls are all the magic I need.”

Josie and Hope chuckled as their family got caught up in bickering. Ah, good times. While Josie hugged her wife, the only thought on her mind was home sweet home.

For better or worse.

In sickness and in health.

From dusk ‘till dawn.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand that's a wrap. Merry Christmas, everyone :)

**Author's Note:**

> I can't stop thinking about how cute yet powerful Josie and Hope would be together. So that's why I'm writing this fic, which will be a couple of chapters long. Due to a busy schedule, I'll update when I can. 
> 
> The Hosie fandom is small, but for those shipping them, I hope you enjoy this fic. :)


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